The Impossible Takes A Little Longer
by Heuristic
Summary: Unable to resist a challenge Rachel now has to persuade Quinn to go out with her not just once but four times..
1. Chapter 1

**Okay so when I said no more stories I really meant...**

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><p>Rachel was wondering when exactly this conversation began to spiral out of her control. One minute Mercedes, Tina and her were seated in the cafeteria discussing their future options with Rachel providing some heart warming, inspirational and motivational words and the next it seemed as if Tina and Mercedes were ... well 'beginning to gang up on her' for want of a better phrase. Rachel tucked some hair behind her right ear before leaning forward to ensure she made good and extremely sincere eye contact with her fellow Gleeks.<p>

" I was merely saying that nothing is impossible if you want it enough" she explained," You just need to be clear what you want and organised enough to take the appropriate steps to achieve it" Rachel tried to ignore the fact that Mercedes was rolling her eyes before she was even halfway through what she was saying.

"Hell no, Rachel, that is so not true. I couldn't possibly want to be a successful recording artist more than I do now - doesn't mean it's going to happen" Mercedes replied, doing little to hide her exasperation.

"But that's just a wish Mercedes, what steps are you taking to make it happen? Are you sending demo tapes out, uploading songs on to YouTube, applying to participate in reality tv talent shows" Rachel paused for breath noting the slightly guilty look on Mercedes face," and that's the mere tip of the iceberg of strategies to get yourself noticed. If you're not doing at least that then you _obviously_ don't want it enough."

Tina glanced between the two girls currently glaring at each other over table top. Mercedes looked about ready to erupt. She wafted the plate of tater tots under Mercedes nose to distract her before directing a comment to Rachel.

"Rachel, somethings are just impossible whether you want them enough or not" she added timidly to the conversation.

Rachel sighed in frustration - were these two being deliberately obtuse?

"Well obviously," she tried to rein in her sarcastic tone and go for sincerity, "things that are impossible can't be overcome by determination alone, I mean I'm never going to be able to walk on water."

"Really, I thought you already did that" snapped Mercedes snidely. Rachel huffed.

"But just because something is very difficult doesn't make it impossible you just need some self-belief.." Rachel persevered.

"Yeah you've got plenty of that" Mercedes interjected in a manner meant to insult rather than compliment. Rachel eyed her with a is-that-all-you've-got look

"So the key is wanting it enough?" Tina tried to distract again only to be met with a loud sigh from Rachel.

"No " she explained in a patient tone that clearly emphasised her impatience "what I am saying is that a positive mental attitude is key to overcoming obstacles and achieving what others would consider impossible" Rachel glanced at her less than enthusiastic audience. Time to dumb it down," You either want it enough or school yourself into the mental attitude of appearing to want it enough and then.."

Tina look perplexed "Sorry," she whispered, 'I'm a bit lost"

Rachel decided to limit herself to two syllable words," What I am saying is if I need to achieve something, that I don't particularly want to do and that I find hard, then I try to take on the mental approach of wanting to do really well. Once I have the 'wanting it enough' state of mind ready then I can go on to achieve."

She paused to think of an example, "Like that last calculus assignment. I spent the first few days of the homework gearing up into developing a "I want to be the best at calculus' frame of mind and then when it came to completing the task it was easy"

Okay, maybe that was a slight misrepresentation of the truth as no-one in their right (or even left) mind would consider that calculus death-by-notation assignment easy, however she had found it easier to complete once she'd been determined to do well on it so her point still held. A sly look passed over Mercedes features and Rachel could feel a frisson of slight fear sweep over her.

"So what you're saying Rachel is that given a difficult task, that you don't particularly want to achieve, you can succeed by a triumph of will power?" Mercedes asked with a faux friendly tone.

'Yes" replied Rachel hesitantly, her eyebrows betraying her confusion at Mercedes abrupt change of tone.

"So you're saying that if we came up with a seemingly close to impossible challenge. " Mercedes started.

"That you weren't even interested in achieving" joined in Tina.

"Then you would be successful by will power" finished Mercedes. Rachel considered this carefully – that essentially was what she'd been saying so why did she feel there was a catch?

"Yeeeeees" she concluded hesitantly still unable to anticipate Mercedes motives.

"You don't sound too sure" goaded Mercedes.

"Yes." She replied firmly, "Yes I would. It a simple case of.."Rachel hastened to explain

"Don't believe you" muttered Tina.

"Yeah, no way Rachel, you're full of.." Mercedes bit off the end of the statement on seeing Rachel's disapproving look. She winked at Tina surreptitiously. The unstated implication that she was in someway lying really stung Rachel. So much for sharing the benefit of her experiences to enable her friends to achieve beyond their expectations she berated herself.

"I've used this technique numerous times, for example.." Rachel hastened to explain but was cut off by a hand held in the air by Mercedes.

"Maybe you just thought you didn't want these things but deep down in your subconscious you really did?" proposed Mercedes. Rachel pondered for a moment

"No I that's not the case" she stated emphatically.

"Yeah but as it's your subconscious the whole point is you wouldn't be aware of it" Mercedes retorted triumphantly pleased to note Rachel's scowl.

"That's ridiculous" Rachel complained before a brilliant idea came to her. There was no way she was going to lose this argument to Mercedes, "Why don't you two come up with a task that is nigh near impossible, that I obviously don't want and then I'll prove to you the power of positive thinking"

Rachel was too busy envisaging the awestruck and admiring responses she'd gain from these two once she had succeeded to note the triumphant smirk on Mercedes face.

"Oh I'm not sure that's a good idea" replied Mercedes conversationally

"It is. You're just worried I'll prove you wrong" said Rachel gaining confidence now that Mercedes seemed to be hesitant.

"What about giving us two all your solos" Tina suggested noting the pained expression on Rachel's face," and being pleased to do so" she added rather pleased with herself. At least she'd get to sing a bit more and frankly she didn't care whether Rachel liked it or not.

"No, albeit it difficult that's not not 'nigh impossible' enough" Mercedes made air quotes in the air. She considered her next response carefully. She let her eyes sweep round the room, stopping as they alighted on the Cheerios and hangers-on table. Now it came to the crunch, dare she suggest it?

"What about..no that's ridiculous." Mercedes shook her head then added "You couldn't possibly have a hope.. Rachel let's just forget about it" Mercedes artfully baited her trap. Everyone knew Rachel couldn't resist an opportunity to prove herself correct.

"What about what? Come on Mercedes issue your challenge. I insist" Rachel was adamant – the more seemingly impossible the better. She'd show her sceptical companions the sort of mental focus that had served her so effectively thus far in her fledgling career.

"It wouldn't be fair" Mercedes muttered shaking her head and adding," No-one could do it" in a resigned tone.

"As long as it's not illegal or something that'll ruin my perfect student record I'm up for the challenge" Rachel struggled to rein in her enthusiasm. She was invincible when she put her mind to it.

"It's a bad idea, forget I said anything" Mercedes responded. It was almost too easy and Mercedes felt a slight twinge of regret that she quickly supressed. It was about time Rachel learnt some humility and what better way than a challenge she couldn't win even with all her over inflated self-belief?

"Mercedes just tell me. Whatever the challenge is I accept" insisted Rachel realising a split second too late the error of her ways as a predatory grin appeared on Mercedes face.

"Well in that case.." Mercedes paused to enjoy the mix of apprehension and anticipation on Rachel's features," The task is for you to get Quinn Fabray," she noted Rachel paling slightly and felt smug," to go out with you for at least four dates."

Four was pretty arbitrary, one could be a misunderstanding but four…

Mercedes sat back to enjoy the look of horror that swept across Rachel's features "Quinn Fabray?" Rachel's voice wavered. Why was she focussing on the Quinn Fabray part? Getting anyone to go out with her on 4 dates was hard enough.

"But she hates me" Rachel added rather superfluously as everybody (and their dog) knew that. Rachel struggled to pull her thoughts together. Straight as a ruler Quinn Fabray on a date?

"You want me to get Quinn Fabray to fall in love with me?" she asked wondering why her heart was racing and her blood pounding in her ears –abject terror she supposed.

"Oh No" Mercedes laughed, 'That _would_ be impossible. You just need to persuade her to go out on 4 dates with you – nigh impossible? Check. Something you don't want? Check. " Mercedes would be lying if she said she didn't enjoy the fear that seemed to be preventing Rachel from speaking.

"You don't have to do it Rachel" Tina volunteered, worried that Rachel was undergoing some kind of panic attack. Surely she needed to breathe?

'That's right Rachel, maybe positive mental attitude isn't always enough to overcome everything" sneered Mercedes already picturing how amused Kurt was going to be when she relayed this conversation about how she bettered Rachel. Rachel took a few calming breaths and then a few more. She wasn't one to back away from a challenge – a small part of her brain was suggesting maybe this was the time to change that.

"Fine" she said with a big grin and projecting an air of confidence she certainly didn't feel," but I feel some rules first. No-one outside us three is to know about this challenge" she eyed the two other girls and was pleased to see Mercedes slightly crestfallen look.

"Secondly we need to clearly define what we agree is a date and then I think a time span within which the four dates should occur needs to be specified" Rachel paused for breath and Mercedes began to regret her challenge, they'd have graduated by the time Rachel had clearly defined what all terms of the agreement meant. Life was too short for this when Rachel didn't have a snowball in hell's chance of even exchanging friendly words with Quinn let alone _going on a date…_

"Face it Rachel you're not even going to get one date which I'd define as you and Quinn spending time together without the company of others" offered Mercedes trying to derail Rachel's train of thought before a written contract was drawn up, witnessed and signed.

"And we'll need to agree on what constitutes evidence of a date in that case, if just Quinn and I are to be present" Rachel continued trying to drown out the voice in her head screaming at 'this is going to end badly ' at her. Further musings on Rachel's behalf were drowned out by the ringing of the bell for the end of lunch and it was with relief Tina headed away from the other two. She wished she hadn't been present for Mercedes setting Rachel up on a kamikaze mission. Rachel could be annoying but no-one deserved to be put in Quinn Fabray's firing line anymore than Rachel already was. It couldn't end well and if anything Quinn would up her hostile treatment of Rachel if she even dared to have the impudence to suggest she and Quinn went on a date. Tina shook her head in disbelief and bewilderment – what was Rachel thinking? She was still in earshot to hear Quinn's sneering Rupaul remark make its way across the room and Rachel to make a bright, friendly, seemingly oblivious to the insult, reply. Tina stifled the urge to groan – this was so not going to end well.


	2. Chapter 2

**A speedy update? Don't get used to it! Thanks for the encouraging reviews **

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><p>To say Rachel was distracted in her lesson immediately after lunch was the winning understatement of all understatements. Fortunately her teacher, Miss Smith, rather than being concerned by Rachel's obvious distraction, was happy to cruise through the lesson without the usual challenging questions from Ms know-it-all Berry. So while Miss Smith was having an easy time of it, Rachel was fighting the urge to groan out loud and thump her head on the desk. Date with Quinn Fabray - or rather 4 dates? Maybe she should try for a duet with Barbra while she was at it? She replayed the conversation again in her head slightly embarrassed at how easily Mercedes had lured her in. There was only a slither of difference between impossible and nigh impossible – so while technically it was possible to have a date with Quinn, practically it was a non-starter. Hadn't Quinn sworn off boys? Mind you she'd never shown even the slightest hint of interest in girls ever as far as Rachel knew. So she hadn't sworn off boys in favour of girls. Perhaps she should admit to defeat and allow Mercedes bragging rights over her – which she would no doubt exercise long, loud and frequently. Rachel sighed. No, she couldn't give in without some effort. She sighed again; this was hardly the positive mental attitude she'd been so eloquently advocating and that had got her into this mess in the first place. She just needed to break the task down into bite size pieces and string it all out for so long that Mercedes would forget about her challenge. Mercedes forgetting was about as likely as her praising Rachel's singing. It was no good; she was doomed to listening to Mercedes crowing for the rest of her illustrious school career. In the meantime she needed to take the Berry family approach of not going down without a fight on the bridge of the sinking ship or something like that anyway.<p>

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><p>It was a deeply pre-occupied Rachel who took her place on the front row of seats in the Glee room. The sympathetic pat on the shoulder from Tina wasn't really helping either. Baby steps she reminded herself, seeking the unobtainable focus of her planning with her eyes. She needed to cultivate the desire to go out with Quinn Fabray - Rachel winced a bit at her phrasing, desire and Quinn Fabray didn't go well together in the same sentence. She fixed her gaze on the ex-Cheerio. Well there was no doubt about her beauty, with her finely defined features and distinctive cheek bones. Shame that she was such a...<p>

"Avert your gaze Manhands you're making me feel ill" snapped Quinn causing Rachel to involuntarily come to attention. She quickly redirected her gaze to staring straight ahead and watching Mr Schue pretend he hadn't heard what Quinn had just said. Such a spineless wimp masquerading as a caring teacher. She had no wish to spend anytime anywhere near the blonde and the feeling was obviously mutual. Rachel clamped down on that train of thought. Her task was harder than she thought - she needed to find positives about Quinn in order to persuade herself that she wanted a date. A list would be a good idea. She could start with the fact that Quinn was physically attractive. Rachel braved a glance at Quinn, oh yes, definitely attractive. Then there was ... Rachel racked her brains. Um she was intelligent, maybe not emotionally intelligent, but definitely smart in the conventional sense so there was a possibility that she'd be a good conversationalist if she could rein in the desire to humiliate and belittle those around her. Oops - she needed to keep this positive. So Quinn was attractive, intelligent and… er… an independent women. Rachel could feel a headache coming on – maybe a poll of her fellow glee club members would help? Oh yes, she'd forgotten, Quinn had an okay, if occasionally the slightest hint off key, voice. From Rachel this was nearly high praise, as her ratings for singing voices ranged from _should never be allowed to sing a note_, through _could be tolerated in a group number_ to a grudging _okay_ and then a vast expanse of no one to finally finishing at Rachel herself that she had reluctantly labelled as _outstanding voice of her generation_. Reluctantly because it seemed a bit immodest to acknowledge how amazingly fabulous she really was even on her _own_ scale in her _own_ head. Rachel realised the Glee meeting was breaking up around her – time to canvas other Gleeks for words to describe Quinn that she could use to bolster her own rather limited list.

"Hi Finn" she honed in on her ex-boyfriend for an easy start," So I was wondering " she could already see Finn's eyes darting about looking for a way to escape her attention. Not hard to see why their relationship didn't last.

"Finn" she said a bit more assertively and he reluctantly met her eye," If I asked you to pick one positive word to describe Quinn what would it be?" she added a mega-watt smile to reward him for his attention. He looked slightly disconcerted.

"Total conniving bitch" he responded without thought. Mind you that was Finn all over - everything was without thought. Neither a one word nor a positive answer but definitely a description she could empathise with. She slipped past him to approach Noah and repeated her question. Noah smirked, ran his hand over his Mohawk as he settled on "Hot". This was going well. Undeterred Rachel continued collecting data from all bar Mercedes and Tina with the sum of her responses being either references to Quinn's physical appearance or negative words such as "Scary" "Sad" "f*cked up" and a rather puzzling "swan-like". Rachel had decided to not delve any deeper with Brittany but instead, as she walked to her car, she pondered how Quinn could be considered to resemble a swan. She was sure she'd read somewhere that swans were vicious territorial creatures so maybe that was it?

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><p>On arriving home Rachel fixed herself a fruit smoothie before heading upstairs to her room. Spreading a large piece of flip chart paper out on her desk she penned a 'Quinn' in the middle before adding ' beautiful' and 'smart' on to her spider diagram. Then she sat alternately sipping her drink and chewing the end of her marker pen awaiting inspiration. She finally added 'athletic' with an over-elaborate design to distract from her obvious lack of inspiration. Rachel had dismissed 'supportive' - that incident with Mercedes seemed an aberration rather than a personality trait; 'loyal' had had only fleeting consideration until the Santana boob job sprung to mind; 'caring' 'friendly ' and 'thoughtful' were dismissed immediately and Rachel was fast running out of adjectives to describe people she liked. On the other hand she could have filled two flip chart sheets of negative descriptive words for Quinn - she dragged her thoughts away from that path and stared at the paper in front of her. Finally she added 'leadership skills' and 'reasonable singing voice' just to fill up some of the space before leaning back on her chair and sighing. She wouldn't want to go out with Quinn for her winning personality - time to take a different approach.<p>

Perhaps she needed to focus on the beauty of Quinn? As a future award winning member of the Arts surely it was important for her to appreciate the aesthetic? With that now decided Rachel began to search through her extensive collection of photos and performance videos. Half an hour in to browsing through her photos it began to dawn on her that Quinn was rarely pictured smiling. She flipped through the photos again, no scrap that, Quinn was only smiling in the performance photos. The rest of the time she had a neutral or annoyed expression detracting slightly from her natural beauty. Rachel considered this fact carefully, maybe Quinn was just permanently unhappy (or permanently unhappy when Rachel was around with her camera?)? After all she did have something to be unhappy about. Rachel could empathise about Quinn giving up her daughter for adoption as it was a lot like losing a solo - nights filled with regrets and wondering whether you could have done anything differently...except with the baby thing it was probably a longer lasting feeling as she could hardly focus on doing better next time. Poor Quinn, at least she had friends to turn to in...Rachel again hit a blank. Who was Quinn close to? She seemed to have an antagonistic relationship with Santana and Puck. She rarely spent time with any of the other Gleeks apart from sitting at the same table occasionally for lunch. Was Quinn Fabray lonely? Rachel felt a huge wave of sympathy for the girl. No wonder she never smiled.

Rachel moved on to looking at her videos of practices and performances, distilling them down ito a 15 minute montage of Quinn dancing, smiling and laughing (twice) with a sound track of 'I like the way (you move)' and "Are you gonna be my girl' as a bit of not so subliminal messaging. Rachel then decided her own slightly tweaked version of "Are you gonna be my girl' was needed with a few adjustment to the lyrics. By the time she was finally happy with her video a significant part of the evening had passed. She played the finished product with a sense of accomplishment. Quinn seemed a more carefree and approachable person in the video than she was in reality. Her beauty was enhanced by her smiles, Rachel berated herself for smiling back at the screen - maybe she needed a break? To be honest she'd only just noticed – okay maybe she'd noticed a bit earlier on - what a trim shapely rear Quinn had as well as a rather provocative way of dancing. Neither 'nice ass' nor 'sexy hip movements' made it on to her flip chart though. She took some screenshots of a smiling Quinn and printed them off before saving them to her phone - if she was going to approach Quinn this was how she needed to picture her. She mentally slapped herself - stop with the 'if'. The video remained for the moment on her computer alone. Her Dads were back from work and calling her down for dinner. She logged off her computer and hid the Quinn photos under her pillow before skipping down the stairs to claim an engrossing school project as the reason for her being holed up in her room. Rachel's head was full of images of Quinn accompanied by snippets of the soundtrack she'd created playing in her head. She felt she was off to a good start at persuading herself she really wanted something that she actually didn't. She resolutely held off thinking about what her next step should be. Baby steps.

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><p>Rachel started her day by propping up her laptop in sight of her elliptical so she could watch the Quinn video she'd made on a loop as she ran. This was the first time she changed her routine in over two years and she decided that it was worth it as Quinn was definitely pleasing to the eye - oh and her own version of that song was close to perfection too. Perhaps she should consider performing it for her MySpace collection? Rachel browsed through her wardrobe for a suitably close fitting dress, trying not to wince at the plastic bags of plaid skirts and knitted sweaters that her Dad had insisted she got rid of. She wasn't sure whether any charity shop would actually want them after her Dad's cruel-to-be-kind but devastating critique of her dress sense. The fact that he thought her 'librarian chic' look was actually more accurately described as 'tranny granny' still hurt. What sort of parent waited two years before pointing out the error of your ways?Her Daddy had been appalled when he found out her Dad had raised her dress sense (or lack thereof) with her and she'd felt briefly vindicated until the ensuing row made clear they'd agreed years ago to say nothing to her about her poor choices. At least she'd got an entire new wardrobe out of the whole painful affair and she'd kept back a few of the outfits her Dad had most disapproved of just in case she needed to torment him in the future. Rachel skipped down the stairs - she could enjoy her day building on appreciating Fabray's fabulousness before the painful process of actually working out how to ask for a date.<p>

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><p>Quinn strode down the corridor scowling at anyone who even looked as if they dared to get in her way. She pulled her locker open and rummaged for her books trying not to sigh too heavily. Her life was monotonous and predictable. She hardly saw her mother and had no idea of the whereabouts of her Father. Her daughter was never going to view her as her Mum and that whole sex and pregnancy experience had made her swear off sex for the foreseeable future if not for life. Meanwhile everyone else seemed to be pairing off happily, Mike and Tina, Brittany and Artie, Mercedes and whoever that jock was, Kurt and Blaine, Puck and whoever the mystery woman he was involved with was (probably someone's mum or even grandmother given Puck's cougar tastes and that insufferable smirk he was sporting), Finn and that brunette cheerio who was even dumber than him (Santana's joke about Finn merely having to shine a torch in her ears to make her eyes light up still made her snigger. Finn had settled for a rather inferior Rachel look-alike) leaving her, Santana and Rachel having singledom in common. Her and Santana were barely speaking and she was only summoning up the energy to insult Rachel as it felt like a tradition. She snapped out of her thoughts to realise Rachel was starring at her with a glazed expression.<p>

"What's your problem RuPaul?" she growled half-heartedly because constantly insulting Rachel was energy sapping and not really any fun with Rachel's steadfast refusal to take offence. Rachel looked her in the eye and then without a hint of a smile replied seriously, if a little dreamily,

"Sometimes Quinn I forget to appreciate how breath takingly beautiful you really are"

Quinn found herself dunbstruck as a blush worked its way up her cheeks and her heart felt squeezed. Rachel's hand quickly covered her mouth, as if to stop any more of her thoughts escaping, and she looked horrified as she scurried away. Quinn watched her go feeling slightly bemused. Of all her family, friends and ex-boyfriends it was only Rachel who ever told her she was beautiful. A faint smile drifted across her lips, if Rachel said it, it must be true. After all Rachel was nothing if not brutally honest - Quinn was beautiful. There was a spring in her step as she headed off for her first lesson. Someone noticed her without pity or disdain, even if it was just Rachel.


	3. Chapter 3

**Pleasantly surprised at the interest in this story - big thanks to those sparing the time to review. Apologies if the pace is too slow for you, I need a Beta reader and an editor! Somehow the characters are in control and not me. Blame the speedy update on a day off work ;) **

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><p>Rachel stared at herself in the mirror in the girls toilets to consider how she would proceed from here. The minor over-share with Quinn that morning was easily dealt with. She would continue to make factually correct statements (i.e. comment on Quinn's beauty) until such a time as they became hazardous to her health (i.e. Quinn made disparaging remarks back). That way Quinn wouldn't realise that she'd made a slip up today. Right then, as for achieving the 'nigh impossible' her next baby step was to amass as much information about Quinn's interests and hobbies so that she could, to use the vernacular, find an 'in'. She'd start in the library with the yearbooks, school magazines and possibly an Internet search of the local paper. She could ask Jacob, she grimaced at herself in the mirror - on second thoughts maybe not. Things weren't that desperate – yet. Anyway once she'd exhausted those information avenues she would try to gather secondary data from Quinn's friendsacquaintances before finally, if necessary, collecting primary data by …er… shadowing Quinn. The difference between shadowing and stalking was in the motives not the actions. Her motives were purely fact finding and therefore not stalking. She smiled at herself - now that sounded like a plan.

"Ah the face that cracked a thousand mirrors," commented Santana as she strode into the bathroom scowling at Rachel in the mirror.

Rachel kept 'the girl that slept with a thousand boys' retort in her head as she rather liked the current state of her physical well being. Instead she smiled at Santana and responded with a bright " And a very good morning to you too Santana" as she headed for the door. Santana seemed to be considered attractive by a vast proportion of their peers but, mused Rachel, she couldn't hold a candle to Quinn.

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><p>Rachel spent every free moment that day ensconced in the library perusing the collection of McKinley High produced literature. She hadn't found much that was helpful about Quinn's interests beyond general themes such as listening to music, exercising and reading books. No hints at music or book genres or what sort of exercising. Honestly, Rachel's Grandma listened to music and read books but she very much doubted her tastes overlapped in the slightest with Quinn Fabray's unless Quinn was an Opera and Mills&amp;Boon fan. Rachel returned the yearbooks and magazines to the shelves ensuring they were in their rightful places ignoring the voice in her head whispering 'anally retentive with hints of OCD'.<p>

The long shot of information gathering from the local paper it was then. She logged on to the school network and sneaked another mouthful of her salad. The website of the local paper was obviously designed by someone with little experience of the Internet. Eventually Rachel found the page that enabled her to search the archives by term so she entered Fabray and was surprised to see so many hits. Her joy was short lived as it quickly became apparent that the majority of links were to the letters page where a Russell Fabray seemed to have taken it on himself to be spokesman for God on the question of morality. When she delved further Rachel realised that Russell Fabray seemed mostly obsessed with the threat to civilised society by homosexuals - in fact obsessed seemed an understatement! Some major repression going on there diagnosed Rachel before she started to feel sympathy for Quinn - bet that household had been a bundle of laughs to grow up in. It did make her understand why her Dads were so hostile to having 'that hateful rag' in the house.

She finally clicked on a link that didn't go to the letters page opening instead on the competitions section to reveal a photo by a Quinn Fabray. It must be her Quinn Fabray as Quinn wasn't really that common a name and Fabray was rather unusual too. The photo's title was 'trees in the park' and it had won second prize in the 2011 annual photography competition. The article didn't specify the number of entries for the competition but it was probably more than two judging by the fact the composition of the picture was really quite good even if the title was majorly disappointing and rather unambitious. Rachel looked at the winning entry – well, silhouetted trees were never going to win against cute kittens. So from this she had learnt that Quinn Fabray was either an amateur photographer or, much less likely, an amateur competition enterer addicted to the thrill of possibly winning a prize.

The final link took Rachel to a rather grainy shot of completely unidentifiable children apparently performing the nativity at the local church more than a decade ago. She scanned the accompanying text to find Q Fabray had featured as an angel. Rachel tried to smother a laugh at the thought that the fear of being typecast had caused angel-faced Quinn to turn into such an unkind person.

"What are you doing Rachel?" suddenly said into her ear caused her to leap off her seat and collapse back into it with a pounding heart and the rest of her salad scattering all over her and the floor. At least she had the presence of mind to close down the current window for it to be replaced by an article on 'Stars Tips To Conquer Stage Fright' – yes well, she hadn't wanted to hang about coming up with some imaginative decoy page so she'd clicked on the first link on the celebrity gossip website that the previous user had been looking at. Tina, for it was she, peered at the screen.

"Hardly anything you need to know about" she said conversationally wondering why Rachel was so jumpy. Rachel smiled looking a little embarrassed "Well actually I was just formulating what response I'll give when I'm asked" she suggested lamely, pleased she hadn't clicked on the '3-in-a-bed sex romp' link. Tina eyed her closely; well, that explained Rachel's awkwardness - she hated being caught practising for stardom. In fact, Tina thought Rachel had stopped doing it after her and Mercedes caught her doing a red carpet over the shoulder pose and had then proceeded to pose like that every time they talked to her. Rachel had been SO unimpressed. Tina held back the laugh the memory prompted.

"I thought you might be looking up tips on how to woo someone who hates you," joked Tina

"Already done that," dead panned Rachel, "Just need to become a millionaire over night and then everyone will want to date me. Either that or the frequent bestowing of sexual favours along with a widespread reputation of being phenomenal in bed is required. Frankly, of the two, the second is the more viable option." She projected a thoughtful look and then enjoyed the way Tina's eyes widened and she looked rather alarmed.

"I'm joking Tina" she added turning back to the screen and logging off as Tina tried to claim she'd known all along that Rachel was "obviously joking" as the idea was "so totally outrageous". Tina then hastily corrected herself to add that when she said outrageous that didn't mean she thought Rachel couldn't be phenomenal in bed. She faded into an awkward silence. Rachel let the silence linger briefly before responding with "As you know, I always strive for perfection in everything I do so no doubt phenomenal will be an understatement when used to describe my performance in the bedroom arena". She smirked asTina appeared highly embarrassed and obviously unhappy with the visuals her own imagination was creating. It was time to head for next lesson.

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><p>An English lesson in the company of Quinn was Rachel's next engagement. Mrs Easterly liked to mix up who they worked with and where they sat and today this worked in Rachel's favour as she sat in the back row with Quinn directly in her eyeline. Rachel felt she was quickly developing her ability to appreciate the aesthetic - whether admiring the standard attractive features of face and figure or taking a more detailed look such as those graceful long fingered hands and shapely perfectly symmetrical breasts, Rachel was more than enthusiastically engaged. She couldn't tell if Quinn's eyes lingered on the photo images being projected on the wall for longer than usual, indicating a possible interest In photography, or not. Although to be fair, the poetry the images were being used to spice up was so incredibly inaccessible and pretentious that maybe all of the class were staring fixedly at the pictures as a means of escape. Rachel's luck then changed and she was paired up with one of the bottom row Cheerios (Tracy? Stacey? Casey?) to prepare a critique of a given poem. Experience had taught Rachel that only speaking when spoken too was undoubtably the best policy when dealing with those who sought to belittle her. But when did Rachel ever take the easy way? She chatted away to the increasingly irritated Cheerio (Jane? Dwayne? Shane?) letting the girl's attempts at cutting remarks wash over until the Cheerio (Teri? Sherry?) asked, in desperation, " What'll it take to get you to shut the f*ck up?" Rachel paused for a moment trying to think of a suitably subtle way to tease out the information she wanted before settling for<p>

"I'm helping the librarian sort out the photo archive for McKinley high extra-curricula activities" so far so true, her motivation being to ensure no possibly harmful photos of herself were retained ready to explode in the future once she was famous, "and there's a dearth of informal Cheerio photos from the last two National competitions." Again true," So if you could let me know which Cheerios I could approach for photos to fill the gaps that would really help – and possibly spare me an excessive amount of unnecessary abuse. In return I'll stop talking right now."

The Cheerio (Jenny? Penny?) sighed before offering," Well 'easy-lay Fabray' was the unofficial photographer with her fancy German contraption although Stacey, Jenny and Lisa were rather snap happy too. Doubt whether any of them would want to help a loser like you out though." Rachel nodded, feeling very clever at her deviousness. The Cheerio scanned their poem and glanced at Mrs Easterly "We'd better get some ideas down to write up for next lesson," the Cheerio (Trixie - Rachel suddenly remembered) looked expectantly at Rachel. Rachel smiled back and gave the universal gesture of lips being sealed. Trixie coaxed and threatened for the next five minutes before finally pleading with Rachel for her analysis of the poem. If she was paired up with the school swot she might as well gain some good marks from it.

"Well obviously it's all a metaphor with the white rose standing for the purity of the maiden whereas the worm eating away at its heart and destroying the bloom represents either male genitalia or the male seed. A literal deflowering if you will. Mind you, if the worm is meant to be representing male genitalia you'd have to wonder whether the poet had some kind of size issue". Trixie looked equal parts fascinated and horrified," Or" paused Rachel thoughtfully,"it's a rather sad recognition of the perils of investing too much time in growing roses" Rachel offered with a smirk as the bell sounded pleased to see confusion on Trixie's face. Neither of those two interpretations would be gaining her any points and the class were heading out . Rachel summoned up as much courage as possible and then paused by Quinn, who was busy collecting her notes together.

"Still looking positively resplendent Quinn," she stated clearly, moving briskly toward the door so she wouldn't see Quinn sneering at her. Rachel felt relieved as she exited the classroom - she was still in one piece. Quinn paused packing her bag, looking up to thank Rachel for her comment but the girl was already out the door. It was a breath takingly beautiful and positively resplendent Quinn who was the last to leave the classroom with her head held slightly higher than when she entered it.

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><p>Rachel's research into photography was well under way and her photo themed playlist was playing on repeat. She briefly pondered whether 'girls on film' was a possible Glee club number before sighing again at the longlist of different types of photography on her screen. Maybe she was going about this all wrong - what she needed was to talk to someone in the know. 'Uncle' John, one of her Dads oldest friends, was an owner of an Art Gallery in a nearby upmarket town and a keen amateur photographer to boot - maybe he could offer some suggestions on cultivating an interest in photography? She dialled his number humming along to the Flock of Seagulls song playing in the background. John answered the phone and they exchanged pleasantries before Rachel took a deep breath and cut to the chase<p>

"The reason I'm calling Uncle John is that I have a ..er..um..er friend who's keen on photography.."

" And you want to bring your 'er um er' friend to my soon to open Landscapes and Urban Artistry exhibition? " John gushed enthusiastically ," I'm impressed you know about it. A collection of ground breaking work by a mix of photographers known and unknown, amateur and professional," John dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper, " talented and god-awful" he finished. Rachel digested his statement. How unlikely was that? The Universe was smiling down on her, surely a good omen?

,"Well.." she started

"Oh honey I can do better than that, why don't you bring your 'er um er' friend to the exclusive, and dare I say hideously expensive, preview? You'll be able to chat with the artists themselves, nibble excessively over priced canapés and watch us adults quaffing rather exorbitantly costly champagne?" John's enthusiasm was always uplifting.

Rachel considered the offer carefully - it sounded ideal. There was just the problem of Uncle John knowing far too many embarrassing stories from her youth and him priding himself on being a witty raconteur. Still, surely he'd be too busy networking and knocking back champagne to tease her and besides it was a better plan than any she had come up with. She could always go with her Dad if things didn't work out.

"Uncle John that would be amazing. When is this preview?" she asked.

"Next tuesday evening. It'd be wonderful to see you again - e-mail me and I'll send you the press pack so you can brush up on your photography expertise and wow your 'er um er' friend"John teased. Rachel sighed, obviously the 'er um er' tag wasn't going to be disappearing anytime soon.

"You' re my favourite and most fabulous uncle" she offered ," I hope the invitations are suitably impressive "

"Gold embossed on quality card darhhhling. Only the best for you" there was a rustling on the line" and now in the post"

"See you Tuesday evening then" Rachel tried to close down the conversation before John cross examined her about her friend.

"Dying from anticipation and curiosity here sweetie" said John sounding kisses down the phone before they both hung up. So that only left the excruciatingly hard part, asking Quinn Fabray to go with her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks, as ever, to all taking the time to share your thoughts via reviews :) **

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><p>"I was wondering whether you'd do me the honour of." Rachel grimaced - too vague. She stepped back then approached her bathroom mirror again.<p>

"So Quinn, let me make your week." God no, that was too arrogant even for her.

"Can I interest you in..?" too salesman like.

"Quinn," dramatic pause and some eye fluttering - no, she looked a bit manic. Rachel sighed. If she tried the Finn approach of just kissing Quinn without warning she'd probably just get punched although she was beginning to see why he went for that option, this setting yourself up for failure was just all so alien to her.

"Doing anything Tuesday?" she produced the rather impressive invitation her uncle had sent her with a flourish - no, she looked like a second, no make that third, rate magician. The fact that her internal dialogue consisted of smart-ass shoot-you-down responses that Quinn would probably make wasn't helping her confidence. No wonder on-line websites suggested a more general invitation such as "Maybe we could go to a photography exhibition together sometime?" as a way of gauging interest and with less chance of outright her to have a specific idea in mind. Mind you, the same websites gave you checklists of things to look out for to judge someone's interest in you and Quinn ticked a grand total of absolutely none of the boxes. The idea Quinn might wink at her would be hilarious if things weren't quite so desperate. She glanced at her watch - she really needed to be going to school and as this was Friday she also really needed to be asking Quinn today. Tucking the invitation into her bag, along with the promotional leaflet she'd printed off with the exhibition details, she headed downstairs and off to her doom.

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><p>Quinn strode purposely down the corridor towards her locker hoping to maybe pass Rachel and garner another little ego boost. Rachel had been giving what Quinn had termed hit-and-run compliments on her appearance all week. Rachel would approach her stealthily, clearly but briefly comment on her beauty before practically sprinting off as soon as the last syllable left her pouty lips. 'Exquisite' 'gorgeous' and a rather tame 'pretty' had all been applied to her. This sort of behaviour would be extremely irritating from anyone else but from Rachel it just seemed rather cute. Rachel was a veritable thesaurus on synonyms for beautiful and yet it never really felt rehearsed - Quinn smiled to herself, it would be just like Rachel to have spent ages rehearsing an unrehearsed vibe. She wanted to ask Rachel what had prompted this sudden need to compliment her but Rachel was proving rather elusive, tending to flee if Quinn started to approach her. Quinn reached her locker slightly disappointed to note Rachel had yet to make it into school. Never mind, she'd see her in English. In the meantime there were people to scowl at and maybe one or two Gleeks to say hello to. She'd avoid Mercedes for the moment as she was way too interested in what Quinn did in her spare time and always had a rather disturbing smirk on her face when she asked. Quinn's spare time was easily accounted for, wandering around the park, camera in hand, in a bid to escape the oppressive home atmosphere or holed up in her room listening to music and wondering at what point her life turned to this bland drudgery. She'd only recently been able to look herself in the eye in the mirror - trying to judge the veracity of Rachel's statements. She'd just restarted her early morning run regime and that was making her feel a bit better about herself too. She headed to the English classroom. Surley it was time for her 'you're beautiful' fix?<p>

Rachel just made it to the English lesson on time. Surely she hadn't spent that long trying to ask out her reflection? In an almost unheard of display of efficiency, Mrs Easterly was returning their poetry interpretations that they'd only handed in yesterday. Rachel filed away her grade A piece of work and felt a bit smug on realising that Trixie, currently seated ahead of her, had a bold red line through her work, a rather large red D in the corner and enough exclamation marks to suggest Mrs Easterly had been completely unimpressed with whatever she'd written. Rachel schooled her features into a neutral mask and fixed her gaze into the middle distance as Trixie turned to scowl at her. At least now Trixie had a reason to hate her rather than just following the crowd. Rachel moved her gaze on to where Quinn was sat. Her beauty never seemed to diminish even with the familiarity of Quinn's beauty that she was gang from all the video watching she was doing. Quinn probably had the smoothest skin and the softest hair to augment her physical perfection. 'Sharpest tongue too' her not so positive inner voice reminded her. 'A rapier sharp wit to cut her to pieces' it added. Rachel sighed, she would be asking the splendiferous Quinn out on a date today if it killed her - and it probably would. It was obvious that improvisation was the way forward, an area of performance she liked to think she excelled at, she just needed to choose her moment carefully. As she glanced back at the board she caught a glimpse of Trixie still scowling at her. And she might need to fit it in asking Quinn out around a slushy attack judging by the animosity Teixie was directing her way and the unlikelihood of her finding an original way of expressing it.

Trixie hadn't quite decided on the manner of her revenge but that big-nosed freak was so going to pay for setting her up. She had wasted hours - or what had seemed like hours - on trying to find acceptable words for losing your v card and 'dick' before giving up and just going for how she'd talk to her mates in her poetry assignment. She'd had to drag it out to meet the minimum number of words required but she didn't think her description was too graphic. Wasn't English all about saying what you thought? Mrs Easterly's comments were burned into her brain "the most offensive" " never in my long teaching career" and "parents in for a conversation." She scowled at the bitch responsible for all this and imagined wiping that smug smile off that ugly face with a few well-placed slaps. Violence was _always_the answer. That gargoyle (her sisters favourite current insult for her. it was apparently an ugly human-size creature found only in Ireland) would regret the day she messed with her. With the manner of her revenge resolved, Trixie broke the habit of a lifetime and began to actually pay attention to what the teacher was saying.

When the lesson finally ended Rachel was quickly out of her seat and ready to launch 'splendiferous' Quinn's way. She completely failed to register Trixie's approach behind her so she'd just started to speak, managing only to say "Quinn", before she experienced a strong push in the back causing her to go sprawling across the floor. She caught herself with her hands as her folders emptied their contents around her.

"Grovelling on the floor is your rightful place you ugly freak," snapped Trixie deliberately treading on as many of the scattered papers as she could manage on her way to the door. Not as satisfying as slapping the loser but less likely to get her into trouble.

Rachel began to gather her papers together kneeling on the floor and wondering whether she should stop antagonising those less fortunate intellectually than herself. She straightened another pile of papers.

"Thanks " she mumbled as her grade A piece of work was handed to her before realising someone had actually bothered to stop and help her. Rachel could hardly have been more suprised when she looked up into the face of Quinn Fabray. Quinn Fabray was helping her. Still not ready to believe it she tried again - Quinn Fabray was helping her. Rachel was quickly sidetracked into admiring Quinn's hazel eyes and perfectly sculpted eyebrows now in such close proximity to her. Quinn Fabray was crouched down next to her, helping her instead of laughing at her. No, still something wrong with this picture. Quinn paused reading the paper in her hand before passing the photography exhibition flyer to Rachel.

"That exhibition looks really interesting," Quinn commented wondering why she was surprised that Rachel could have an interest in anything not singing or dancing. Rachel's mouth had suddenly gone dry and her tongue was cemented to the roof of it so she settled for what she hoped was an encouraging grunt. Honestly, she'd just missed the best cue ever for her to say, "Would you like to go with me?" She staightened her shoulders, there was plenty of time for a critique of her performance once this encounter was over, now was not the time.

"I'd be interested in going to see it," Quinn continued hoping the shock of being pushed over would quickly wear off so that Rachel regained the power of speech.

"Hnnfph" Rachel managed. Quinn interpreted that as a mind your own business grunt and turned to reach some papers behind her. Rachel could feel the opportunity slipping away so with her vocal cords currently out of action she reached in her folder and, resisting the urge to be too dramatic, presented the embossed invite to Quinn with out a flourish. Quinn gave her a puzzled look before reading the card. No longer gazing into Quinn's eyes coincided with Rachel's ability to speak finally returning.

"My Uncle owns the Art Gallery it's being held at" Rachel husked. Hazel eyes with flecks of gold met hers as she and Quinn held each other's gaze.

"Perhaps you could tell me about it after you've been?" suggested Quinn, dropping her eyes and trying to hand the invitation back.

"I er meant you to have the invite," spluttered Rachel and then gathering all her courage up for a make or break statement blurted,"perhaps you and I... I wondered if… maybe we..um.. go?" her voice tailed off into a squeak as she tried to convey her meaning with her hands. Great, way to be incoherent, she scolded herself – so much for excelling at improvising. Quinn must think her an idiot now if she didn't already. She fought the urge to close her eyes and instead steeled herself for a pithy rejection of her presumptiousness.

"That would be nice," whispered Quinn. She'd never been to a photography exhibition preview and the fact it was out of town was an even bigger bonus. "If I understood you correctly, we'd go together?" Quinn asked hesitantly unsure whether Rachel wanted to be in her company or whether she'd just sort of assumed an offer that wasn't there.

Rachel settled for nodding an agreement, she could barely hear Quinn over the sound of her blood pounding in her ears. She needed to nail down the details to make sure this was really happening.

"I'll pick you up at yours at 6:30," stated Rachel before adding, "Unless you want to drive?" Hadn't Finn been most scathing in his _reasons why I want to break up with you_ speech about her need to control everything?

"Your Uncle, your invite, your car," replied Quinn bestowing one of her rare smiles on Rachel. She stood up, handed the last of the scattered papers to Rachel and headed for the door.

"By the way Quinn," Rachel called after her causing Quinn to pause in the doorway, "you're looking rather splendiferous today." Another faint smile ghosted across the Fabray lips before she turned and left the room. Rachel paused briefly to savour the feelings of accomplishment that were sweeping through her. She, Rachel Berry, had just asked Quinn Fabray out on a date - well sort of asked and the date part was not explicitly stated but...Take that Mercedes.

Quinn walked down the corridor processing what had just happened. Had she really agreed to go to an exhibition with Rachel? More amazingly she was eagerly looking forward to it. Because of the photography not because of the company, she told herself, although she expected Rachel to have some interesting opinions on whatever they were going to see because, well, Rachel had opinions on absolutely everything. Usually well-thought out and logically argued opinions too she grudgingly admitted. It was not as if she had loads of social invitations anyway. Her social life was pretty dire and she had no inclination to raise her status and amount of party invites by hooking up with some idiot jock. Maybe she should be spending her spare time with someone who is her intellectual equal – although to be honest that did rather narrow down the field. Rachel and her were constantly jockeying for position at the top of the class ranking so they were definitely evenly matched on that front and, given the choice of Rachel or Jewfro, Rachel definitely won hands down. She'd never considered that Rachel had any interests other than those revolving around musical theatre and dating Finn Hudson and the latter interest had certainly died down. Quinn shook her head, Rachel deserved so much better than that inconsiderate and self-absorbed idiot. Anyone deserved better than that self- absorbed idiot. Anyway she intended to spend the weekend reading up about judging photography. After all, she wouldn't want Rachel's uncle thinking she was an idiot. She didn't spend anytime wondering why Rachel's Uncle's opinion actually mattered


	5. Chapter 5

**A slightly longer chapter than usual but it didn't seem right to split it up or trim it down so my apologies. Cheers reviewers, this chapter is for you! **

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><p>Rachel took another calming breath and gazed again at the Fabray mansion trying to gather the courage to exit the safety of her car. Part of her was convinced Quinn would either laugh in her face and say "You didn't really believe I'd want to go anywhere with you did you?" or that absolutely no-one would answer the door and she'd be left wondering how long to wait before giving up. The positive thinking approach she advocated was failing dismally at the moment. Rachel scrolled through her I-pod and chose a quick blast of ' Edge of Glory (acoustic version)' She closed her eyes and joined in. As she sang "and I'm hanging on a moment of truth" she heard a knocking on the driver's window. She opened her eyes to be met by the vision of a smiling Quinn indicating she was heading for the passenger door. Quinn had been anxiously awaiting Rachel's arrival wondering whether the invitation was regretted after Rachel had avoided her for the past two days at school. Rachel hit the unlock button, before turning the volume down on the stereo, as Quinn entered the car.<p>

"Hi Rachel, giving Lady Gaga a run for her money then?" Quinn greeted her. Rachel blushed furiously in a manner that Quinn considered rather endearing.

" Quinn - I was a bit early" well, 20 minutes was a bit right? Rachel took in the lightly made-up girl next to her wearing a close-fitting, classically designed above the knee red dress. " You look incredible, as ever," she finally managed dragging her eyes away from where the dress hugged Quinn's figure and up to her face.

"Thank you." Quinn quickly scanned Rachel's low cut black number and admired how having her hair up made Rachel seem much older,"You're looking great too." Rachel beamed at her with a warmth in her eyes and Quinn wondered why she didn't compliment Rachel more frequently if this was the response. Rachel fiddled with her iPod again and waited for Quinn to buckle up.

" So are you ready for an evening which 'explores the relationship between postmodern discourse and urban spaces'?" inquired Rachel quoting the exhibition publicity as she pulled the car out into traffic.

" oh yes," replied Quinn ," I'm particularly interested to see how 'influences as diverse as Munch and Buckminister Fuller are synthesised from both traditional and modern meanings" she quoted back.

Rachel caught her eye as they both started laughing.

"Really I'm hoping to see some pretty pictures," Quinn offered

"I'm going for the excessively over-priced canapés," Rachel bantered back, waiting for a moment before adding," and the company of course." Quinn felt herself blush, she didn't feel people generally enjoyed spending time with her.

"So will your Uncle expect intelligent and thoughtful commentary on this exhibition?" Quinn asked unsure whether she was up to the task despite a weekend of research. She couldn't quite figure out why she was so nervous about this. Rachel laughed again.

"Oh no. Uncle John's much more old school - you either like it or you don't," she explained smiling fondly at a memory of her Uncle John giving a pretentious speech about one of her drawings before, when being pressed, summarising with "I love it because you drew it for me." Her six year old self had been so pleased. She shared the memory with Quinn before they both lapsed into a comfortable silence while Quinn felt a bit envious that she didn't have an Uncle like Rachel's in her life. Quinn finally began to recognise the theme behind the background music.

"A themed photography playlist for our trip?" she asked noting a pleased expression on Rachel's face.

"Well spotted - most people don't notice," Rachel replied. Finn had always been spectacularly unaware of the music she carefully chose to be background for their dates. Quinn had noticed after a mere 5 songs.

"To be fair Def Leppards 'Photograph' was a bit of a giveaway." Quinn grinned back.

"Don't be modest Quinn, you had to recognise the songs and know their titles. An imaginary gold star for you - nothing metaphorical about it" replied Rachel smiling.

"Do you always have appropriate playlists for every occasion?" Quinn asked unsure whether she was asking seriously or teasing Rachel.

"Suprising though this may be, music is very important to me so I like to choose music to fit the moment - so yes I s'pose I do," Rachel responded. Quinn considered her answer carefully. So why was Rachel singing Edge of Glory while waiting in the car? What Glory was Rachel on the edge of? Was she really that excited at the thought of a photography exhibition? Or was it about her? Did Rachel want them to be something more than friends? She stared speculatively at Rachel who was lit only by the dashboard glow - that was ridiculous. Rachel was only and majorly interested in boys, especially those who disregarded her feelings. Quinn swept an appraisng look over Rachel - she was charmingly unaware of how attractive she was possibly thanks to her influence. 'Girls on Film' started to play over the speakers saving Quinn from further musings as she and Rachel spontaneously began singing along at the top of their voices. Rachel kept shooting the occassional glance her way with a huge grin on her face. When the song finished Rachel restarted it.

"that was the rehearsal and now the big performance," she said. Quinn was grinning then laughing as Rachel attempted to sing all parts.

" You're such an over achiever Berry," she teased

"And you so lack ambition Fabray," Rachel quickly responded as she pulled into the car park her Uncle had specified in his email. The journey hadn't been the torturous awkward silence she'd expected. She just needed now to keep Uncle John from being too verbose and the evening would be a success - or at least not a disaster.

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><p>The Art Gallery was a modern design with startlingly white walls , a wooden floor and glass surfaces. John happened to glance towards the door as a rather sophisticated looking Rachel stepped into his Art Gallery followed closely by a stunning blond. He could now see what had caused Rachel to be uncharacteristically tongue tied on the phone. Wow. He hurriedly headed over to the two girls and felt touched to see how pleased Rachel was to see him.<p>

" Rachel sweetie, you're looking positively divine." John rested his hands on Rachel's shoulders whilst making a show of taking in her outfit. He stepped back to open his arms "Come make an old queen very happy." Rachel eagerly obliged, stepping forward into an all enveloping hug. John took the opportunity to whisper in her ear "I knew you would have impeccable taste but I didn't expect a woman, you sneaky thing". He released Rachel from the hug and placed his left arm round her shoulders.

" So introduce me to your er um er friend " he suggested proffering his hand. Quinn noted the hint of a blush on Rachel's cheeks and her eye roll on the 'er um er friend' comment before turning her attention to the smartly dressed immaculately groomed, short, smiling man currently half hugging Rachel.

"Uncle John, this is Quinn" Rachel said clearly as Quinn grasped his proffered hand firmly and shook it.

"Pleased to meet you," Quinn said before adding,"Rachel speaks very warmly of you."

He found himself instantly charmed. This Quinn was a smooth operator.

"But that doesn't give you the right to recount childhood stories tales," Rachel quickly chimed in, keen to outline the rules for the evenings interactions so she could stop worrying about it. "I'll be extremely unhappy with you if you tell tales."

"like?" queried John with a surreptitious wink at Quinn. He'd picked up on Rachel's nervousness. He knew her ability to think before she spoke was impaired by her nerves.

"Well, like my tap dancing Shirley Temple impressions on the coffee table as a toddler," Rachel blurted out. That really was the most embarrassing of tales that her Uncle John could tell.

"Rachel, rest assured I won't be sharing that or the flooding the house while trying to create a fish tank in the shower cubicle tale," smirked uncle John watching the realisation dawn on Rachel's face that she had facilitated the revealing of two of her most embarrassing moments. Quinn looked highly amused, before schooling her features into a serious expression.

"Tap dancing Shirley Temple impressions?" queried Quinn as an all too cute vision came into her head.

"My dads haven't always exercised sensible parenting," grumped a red-faced Rachel.

"A young Rachel in a blond curly wig, wearing a Snow White princess dress and tap dancing just sets a new standard on the word adorable. I'm sure Hiram would be delighted to show you the movie. In fact.."Uncle John warmed to his theme, there were hours of film of a younger Rachel at the Berry house.

"Uncle John," Rachel warned,"Please don't force me to leave early."

John held his hands up in mock surrender "Rachie please stay. My lips are sealed," he dramatically mimed sewing his lips shut and gave Rachel a puppy dog look until her face morphed from mildly irritated to amused. Quinn watched Rachel carefully as the conversation played out.

"Just don't talk about my childhood," she instructed him before adding," So, I believe there's food to consume and photos to admire?" which meant he was forgiven and Rachel was moving on.

"indeed. Let me get you both a booklet." He stepped away to find the booklets as Quinn leaned conspiratorially into Rachel.

"So a fish tank in the shower eh?" she said quietly enjoying the sight of a red tinge appear on Rachel's cheeks again.

"it's a long story of a small child deprived of a pet combined with the only clear container in the house being a shower cubicle. Frankly I blame the parents," Rachel quickly responded trying to grin through her embarrassment and Quinn appreciated the fact Rachel had shared the story, albeit briefly, with her

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><p>One of John's assistants handed them guides to the exhibition as John became sidetracked with schmoozing so Rachel took hold of Quinn's elbow and led her towards the nearest well-lit photo.<p>

"Now let me know what you think of this without using any phrases from the promotional leaflet," instructed Rachel softening her words with a smile. "Bonus points for the correct use of juxtaposition" she added to a happy looking Quinn. Quinn carefully studied the black and white shot of scaffolding taken from an unusual angle before moving to look at it from a slightly different position.

"The framing of the shot is unusual drawing the eye away from the bold geometrical sharp shapes of the man-made structures towards the less clearly defined natural blurred patterns created by shadows," Quinn paused and grinned at Rachel," It's an interesting...juxtaposition." She felt proud to be the cause of Rachel's amused laughter. She indicated it was Rachel's turn to comment.

"Well I pretty much follow the Rawsonian school of art criticism so I'll sum it up in three words - I like it" responded Rachel with a big smile.

"Rawsonian?" queried Quinn. She hadn't come across that term when trawling the internet.

"Uncle John's surname," Rachel explained," He introduced me to his rating system of 3 or 4;' I like it' or 'I don't like it'. At my parents gatherings of friends we'd circulate chatting to people with him whispering three or four about them and it felt so mischievous but harmless. I kind of classify most things with a three or four now."

They were interrupted by plates of food being offered by catering staff as they moved on to the next photo and began to make their way round the exhibition. They quietly considered each shot mostly awarding a range of fours, 3.5s for undecided and a couple of 3s, justifying their choices when they disagreed. They reached the final photo. It was an early morning farmland scene with the mist hugging the ground, a few birds in flight and a watery sun fighting to burn off the mist. "Definite three," said Quinn. "Three," Rachel agreed before sending an inquisitive look Quinn's way. Quinn raised an eyebrow back.

"Come on Quinn I can feel you positively itching to tell me why you like it so much," Rachel prompted. Quinn laughed at how easily Rachel had read her. She was dying to verbalise what made this picture stand out for her and 'evocative' needed to be in that explanation. Quinn launched into what she liked about the photo and how she could feel the chill of the early morning air and hear the silence punctuated only by the occasional bird cry as Rachel nodded encouragingly at her. She hadn't realised how strongly she felt about the image before her until she'd started speaking. John had joined them while she was talking or was it pontificating? Quinn felt a little awkward until John agreed enthusiastically with her.

"It's a fairly standard landscape shot and yet there's something special about this one for me for precisely the reasons you were giving." he lowered his voice," The rest of this photographer's work was just too cliched to display but this.." he sighed.

"So overall, worth the journey?" he asked and with that they ran through the pictures they'd seen and what they did and didn't like about them until Quinn needed to excuse herself for a trip to the ladies. She returned a short time later to find Rachel surrounded by men all seeming to hang on to every word she said. Quinn watched from a distance, this was a side of Rachel she didn't get to see at school. John joined her as a wave of laughter erupted from the group surrounding Rachel at something she'd said.

"Her ability to charm gay men will stand her in good stead once she's on Broadway," mused John fondly before turning to look at Quinn,"What about you?"

"I'd like to think I can charm gay men too," offered Quinn pleased to note John's snort of amusement.

"I meant, are you planning to head off to New York too?"he clarrified, finding himself liking the girl beside him. She wasn't just a pretty face and, even more of a plus point, she seemed rather fond of Rachel judging by the amount of time she spent looking at her.

" I haven't even decided what I want to study never mind where," Quinn replied slightly frustrated at her lack of focus. John eyed her carefully, she seemed ready to burst into tears.

"Have you thought about doing something art related? You obviously have an interest in what you saw here and you were expressing intelligently thought out opinions on the various works."

Quinn looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging and mumbling " yeah, well, I'm not very artistic."

"I thought Rachel mentioned an interest in photography?" he queried back noting her surprise. Rachel had talked about her to him Quinn noted.

"It's a hobby. I heven't studied anything in school," she said softly.

"Well if you want help putting together a portfolio Let me know, I'll help" John replied.

"Thanks" she replied politely. John caught her arm and waited for her eyes to meet his.

"Quinn, I mean it" he responded firmly," And if you're work is lacking I can give you a few pointers. Somehow I doubt that'll be the case."

Rachel had noticed the pair of them chatting and picked up on Quinn looking sad? Uncomfortable? She politely excused herself from her group of admirers and walked quickly towards them, her eyes focussed on Quinn.

"Everything okay?" she asked casually trying to guage why Quinn appeared awkward.

"Don't worry Rachel, the tomato ketchup and fur coat story remains unrecounted," John deflected, he grinned at Rachel as she groaned.

"Ketchup and fur coat?" asked Quinn raising her eyebrows as she caught Rachel's eye.

"My lips are firmly sealed." John replied

"Not quite firmly enough," sighed Rachel knowing that she wouldn't be adle to resist the inquiring look on Quinn's face," Briefly, a crowded cafe, a woman seated behind me in a fur coat, a loose lid on a bottle of ketchup and my custom to vigorously shake ketchup bottles before applying said condiment to my chips."

"I think the effect is known as a splatter painting," solemnly intoned John as Quinn burst into peals of unrestrained laughter. Rachel looked unamused but was secretly pleased to have distracted Quinn away from whatever was unsettling her.

"It was an accident waitiing to happen and anyway fur coats are just cruel." She eyed the still laughing pair," Excuse me for a moment."

Quinn tried to control her laughter and made as if to follow Rachel as she headed purposely towards the refreshments.

"Let me. She's annoyed with me not you. Thankfully the girl's a sweetheart so it's in her nature to be forgiving," and with that John strode over to join Rachel as she sipped an apple juice gazing at what seemed to be a blurred shot of the middle of a building although nothing seemed particularly the focus of the shot.

"The god-awful I referred to on the phone" he volunteered," or Avant garde as we in the profession like to cover up with." Rachel didn't turn to look at him as she gazed at the mess in front of her.

"Honey, I'm really sorry if I've upset you but your er um er friend spends a lot of her time looking at you so it seems only fair she knows something about what makes you you rather than just admiring your aesthetic qualities. What's more endearing than amusing childhood stories? You know I'd never deliberately upset you, you're too important to me," he said quietly.

Rachel turned to look at him with a shy smile on her face, she wasn't really upset. She'd just felt a surge of affection for Quinn when she'd laughed so freely and that affection had felt a bit misplaced. Some calming down time had been needed.

"Forgiven?" he asked

"Nothing to forgive," she replied hugging him tightly before adding "About her looking at me.. "

"oh don't even try and deny it, the pair of you are obviously both smitten kittens. I think it's adorable," he replied, begining to hum 'puppy love'.

"i think you're mixing your metaphors and showing your age with your choice of music," commented Rachel as Quinn began to approach them "We're just working on being friends" she explained to him as she returned Quinn's big smile.

"Honey, some man smiles at me like that I'm whisking him to New York and making us legal," John replied sotte voce just before Quinn joined them.

"Rachel, it's getting late maybe we should be heading back?" Quinn suggested hoping Rachel wasn't annoyed with her for her earlier amusement at Rachel's expense. Rachel glanced at her watch and then stared intently at it again. She mouthed a sorry at Quinn, accompanied with a suitably chastened expression.

"Uncle John. I'm really sorry but it is a school night. We do need to be leaving," Rachel said as they hugged again.

"It's been my pleasure as ever," he replied before ignoring Quinn's proffered hand and pulling her in to a quick hug and whispering " Look after her, she's very precious to me" in Quinn's ear.

"Don't be a stranger" he directed to Rachel and a "Remember if you want my help, call me" to Quinn as he gave her his card. Rachel's eyes narrowed slightly. What did that mean? Was Quinn interested in her and wiiling to take advice from her Uncle? She wasn't even sure what she felt about either of those two ideas. She took a deep breath, all she knew for sure was that away from school she and Quinn had got on remarkably well.

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><p>"I had a great evening thanks for inviting me," Quinn said meeting Rachel's eyes across the car roof just before they climbed in.<p>

"Thank you for coming I had a really enjoyable time too," she replied before she started the car. The journey home saw them both wrapped up in their own thoughts with Rachel's chilled mix playing in the background. Finally they pulled up outside the Fabray mansion and for the first time that evening things suddenly became a bit awkward until Quinn broke the silence.

"Tonight was the most fun I've had in ages," she said. She looked intently at Rachel and then, no longer fighting the urge, leaned over to place her hand on Rachel's arm. Putting as much warmth in her voice as she could, she husked "Thank you". Rachel felt an unexpected thrill pass through her and her heart race at the thought that Quinn was going to kiss her. She was over tired, hyper sensitive and being over dramatic.

" My pleasure," she replied realising that it had indeed been her pleasure. Time for reflection later she told herself, now was the time to focus on her bed. She waited to ensure Quinn reached her front door safetly and had the added bonus of noting how her dress clung to her rear. It really was time for bed.


	6. Chapter 6

**So many reviews and a mention on the Lchat thread - all my goals are met I can stop now! As ever , thanks for your feedback...**

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><p>Rachel woke up refreshed and somewhat smug the next morning. She was further forward in her thwarting Mercedes plan than she ever thought possible (putting aside all that positive thinking for the moment). One 'date' down, three more to go and hopefully Uncle John would be e-mailing her some of the photos from the previous night that surely showed her and Quinn dressed up and obviously out together as the evidence she needed. "Date eh Mercedes? I laugh at your idea of impossible," she gloated in her head. Rachel was undecided about the best way to reveal that she'd achieved a quarter of her task. Whether to go for a casual mention in conversation, or send a photo without comment via text or, and this was her favourite, send a montage of photos accompanied with a sound track of …Here Rachel had to do some research but the only 'I'm right you're wrong' song she found was a bit too punk-like for this time in the morning so maybe she'd have to settle for 'Who's sorry now?' She worried that maybe this was a little too triumphalist at this juncture. Maybe Quinn's comment of "the most fun I've had in ages" was making her over confident. Quinn hadn't said they ought to do it again sometime or anything that suggested they'd go out again. She ran a bit further on her elliptical watching her Quinn video before deciding that in fact a big reveal after she'd had all four dates would be a much better in-your-face triumph – provided she could get the other three 'dates' of course. If she couldn't then at least she wouldn't need payback for premature gloating. There couldn't be that many photography exhibitions in travelling distance in the next few weeks so maybe this one social engagement was just a fluke? She currently had no ideas for what to suggest next.<p>

Across town a slightly different inner monologue was being held. Quinn had spent a restless night trying to reconcile how much she'd enjoyed the previous evening with the fact she'd spent it with a girl that the entire student body knew she hated. Or used to hate – she was a little uncertain what she felt at the moment. She kept re-running in her head the sight of a sophisticated, charming and confident Rachel holding a group of gay men in her thrall and she was trying to marry this up with the social outcast and loser status that Rachel held at school. Mixed in with this were thoughts of a tap-dancing, ketchup throwing, fish-loving young Rachel that had been portrayed in the childhood stories which she'd found endearing. Seeing Rachel much admired had made her feel… she was unsure. Proud they were together at that function, slightly jealous that other people were taking up her time and sad she'd wasted such a lot of her time being horrible to "a sweetheart" She finally pinned the feeling down. Guilt was what had kept her awake. Quinn sighed. She was unsure of how to proceed from here. It was a one-off she tried to convince herself. She needed to distance herself before her social status suffered but maybe she could ignore rather than insult Rachel? On the other hand she hadn't been lying about how much she had enjoyed the evening. Perhaps she could just be friends with Rachel outside of school? No, that wouldn't work; Rachel didn't do compromises.

The eagerly awaited e-mail from Uncle John arrived in Rachel's inbox just before she left for school. He expressed his pleasure at seeing her, commented on how much he liked Quinn and then made a remark about every picture telling a story and "the story being Quinn can't take her eyes off you". Rachel opened the attachments – a picture of the pair of them at the start of the evening (definitely the one she'd be showing Mercedes when the right time came), a head shot of Quinn and Rachel smiling at each other, one of Rachel chatting to Uncle John while Quinn was looking at her, a shot of Rachel surrounded by a group of laughing men with Quinn in the background looking her way, and then one of a laughing John and Quinn alongside an apparently unamused Rachel. She looked through them again – it had been an enjoyable evening and Quinn looked so much prettier when she smiled. She thought briefly about whether to forward the photos to Quinn or not and quickly decided she would. No doubt Quinn had the technical skills to crop her out of each photo if she really wanted to.

* * *

><p>Quinn was still undecided whether things between her and Rachel had changed or not. She couldn't even decide whether she wanted the usual remark about her appearance from Rachel or not. Could she just ignore the enjoyable evening they had spent in each other's company? She was generally left alone in the everyday hustle bustle that was school, would that change if she started being even slightly friendly with Rachel? By the time Quinn had reached her locker she'd decided to avoid Rachel and hence avoid having to make a decision. She quickly sorted out her books and headed to class by a circuitous route only to be joined by a grinning Santana.<p>

"Q, have fun last night?" Santana asked as Quinn struggled to keep her alarm off her face.

"The usual sitting in my room trying to avoid doing homework isn't my idea of fun," Quinn responded.

"I could have sworn I saw you in midget's car about a quarter to seven last night," Santana stated carefully examining Quinn's face for the slightest out of place twitch. She almost didn't believe her eyes because Quinn Fabray and Rachel Berry in the same car would surely only happen after hell had frozen over but the blond she'd seen in Rachel's car had looked an awful lot like Quinn.

"Look S you wouldn't catch me dead in Rachel's company," Quinn realised her error almost immediately and rushed to correct her slip of using Rachel's name," Might catch something from the freak," she finished not responding to the narrowing of Santana's eyes. She felt nervous and slightly afraid.

"Hmmmmm. Okay – just wanted to check you weren't going soft…" Santana didn't get to finish before a smiling Rachel bounced up to the pair of them and opened her mouth to speak.

"Look manhands go trouble someone who cares - if there is anyone," snapped Quinn unable to bring her eyes up to look at Rachel but she thought she heard a shocked gasp.

'Yeah munchkin get those little legs to carry you quickly away from here you're contaminating my air supply," sneered Santana as Rachel moved away.

"Well Q it's almost like old times," Santana grinned at her and Quinn gave a small tight smile back.

"Yeah almost" she said softly watching a more restrained Rachel make her way down the corridor and felt disgusted with herself and her behaviour but powerless to change. As she finally took her seat in class she noticed she had a new e-mail. She quickly scrolled through the photos Rachel had sent her before closing the message down and choking back a sob. God, she was such a bitch. A cruel heartless bitch. No wonder she didn't have any friends. She glanced once more at the picture of her and Rachel smiling at each other - here was a glimpse of a friendship she could have, was she willing to work for it?

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><p>Rachel was using all her determination to avoid being upset by Quinn's words. Nothing had changed and she chastised herself for foolishly thinking that a fun night out would change anything at all. She didn't allow herself a moment of self-pity, she plastered a big smile on her face and was nauseatingly good-humoured in her interactions with everyone but most especially with Mercedes and Tina as they had witnessed the Quinn put down. She had survived the morning so the end of the school day was now thankfully and tantalisingly in sight. She'd soon be able to go home and play her weepy mix of songs and cry her heart out for no reason. It was mixed emotions Rachel experienced when Quinn approached their table at lunchtime. On the plus side Mercedes immediately stopped making, what she no doubt considered, witty and subtle references to impossible things but on the minus side Rachel's good-humoured facade was proving difficult to maintain.<p>

"Mind if I sit here?" asked Quinn indicating the spare seat next to Rachel with a nod of her head. Rachel barely registered Mercedes widening eyes as she was busy trying to formulate an appropriate response that wasn't " yes I do actually, why don't you just.." Rachel settled for a non-verbal response of a shoulder shrug as she didn't trust her voice to carry the right nonchalant tone. She steeled herself for another Fabray insult; no doubt Quinn was looking to underline how little last night meant. She rummaged in her bag for more of her lunch - just an apple left. Beside her Quinn was struggling to find an appropriate topic to start a conversation with as she played with the salad on her plate. Around them Mercedes, Tina, Kurt and Mike were at a loss to explain why the atmosphere suddenly seemed so tense.

"Have you done your calculus homework?" Quinn finally asked Rachel wincing internally at how lame that sounded. She ventured a look at Rachel who ignored her in favour of eyeing her apple intently. Rachel continued to avoid her eye and, taking a big bite of apple, grunted what was, on balance, probably an affirmative. It was a daft question, of course Rachel would have done her homework in her first study period after it was set. Quinn shook her head at herself but ploughed on anyway.

"I wondered whether you could possibly help me with some parts of it?" Quinn bit her lip, it was time for forgiving Rachel to make an appearance. Her best pleading look was being wasted on an oblivious Rachel.

"No" responded Rachel firmly and a wave of shock passed over the table. Did Rachel, who just loved being helpful and needed, just refuse a request for help? This was unprecedented. Puzzled looks were exchanged but Rachel and Quinn were oblivious to this as Rachel's gaze was firmly fixed on her apple and Quinn's firmly fixed on Rachel's face. There was a pause when only Rachel's devouring of the apple could be heard. There was an expectation of a Quinn tirade but as the seconds passed it slowly dawned on the rest of the table that there was something way beyond normal going on behind this non-conversation so no-one dared speak. Rachel began to take smaller bites of her apple as she had no idea what to do once she finished eating it in her current 'like-I-care' manner. She hadn't realised she could be so expressive eating a piece of fruit - definitely something to file away for future reference. Quinn's mind was a blank on how to proceed from here and she couldn't bring herself to apologise to Rachel in front of an audience. The silence continued bar some aggressive apple chewing. Quinn cracked first, rising from her seat and with a mumbled excuse about a forgotten appointment she left, face burning with embarrassment and tears forming in her eyes. Rachel wouldn't even look at her. The attention on the table immediately turned to Rachel. She looked around the table with a challenge in her eye and the last of the apple in her mouth.

"What?" she queried. The brevity of her question was so uncharacteristic and the intensity of her gaze so intimidating that no-one said anything. Finally Kurt changed the subject with a generalised critique of poor dress sense in the student body citing examples around the room as the others, except Rachel, eagerly joined in. Rachel was busy with an internal dialogue on whether she'd been rude, if she should in fact have helped out a fellow student having homework difficulties and how lucky it was she hadn't chosen an orange for lunch.

* * *

><p>Once home that afternoon Rachel collected together her being upset kit. Tissues, water to rehydrate (not that she cried that much) headache tablets as a precaution and her favourite teddy bear for comfort. She scrolled through to her weepy mix as her phone beeped with a new text.<p>

**Are you busy Friday night? Q**

Rachel considered her reply just briefly before responding

**Do we have to play this game? I say I 'm free and you reply with That's because you're a _insert insult(s) here_**

Rachel had fallen for that text exchange so often when she was younger and keen to be included in the teenage activities that everyone else seemed to share. She'd had to school herself to put her natural optimism aside and accept that, for whatever obscure reason, some girls liked to go out of their way to be horrible. Her thoughts were interrupted by another incoming text.

**"Look Rachel I'm sorry about earlier. Let me make it up to you by organising for us to do something friday night. Please** "

as Rachel finished reading this text another one arrived.

**"Pretty please with bells on - you know you want to"**

Rachel was wavering but torn between wanting to say yes and trying to exercise an appropriate amount of caution

**"Please - we could have so much fun**" arrived next followed by the photo of them smiling at each other from the previous evening. Rachel's resolve crumbled

**" Okay but only if you tell me some of your embarrassing childhood stories**" Rachel replied before adding

** "And none of this**" she attached the photo of Quinn (and Uncle John) being highly amused with her stony faced.

** "Agreed, Fabray childhood confessions it is. Pick you up at 7:30 details to follow"** came the speedy reply.

"**Okay. It's a date**" Rachel typed before deleting the second sentence and just sending okay. She decided she didn't need her upset kit at the moment. Instead she put on her happy mix and danced about her room with a big smile on her face - 'walking on sunshine' didn't even begin to describe her feelings. It was amazing that besting Mercedes could cause her such happiness.

Quinn read the text in her hand trying to decipher the tone from the words. It was good that Rachel had mostly stopped being monosyllabic wasn't it? 'Okay' was hardly a brimming with enthusiasm response instead it reeked of reluctance and resignation. She needed to let it go, Rachel had said yes (or rather okay) so now she just needed to come up with an activity. Something that Rachel would enjoy, that would demonstrate her thoughtfulness and sensitivity to Rachel's interests and happiness. She quickly scoured local theatre productions for a suitable performance. Perhaps taking in a play or a musical? Or would the standard be below Berry expectations and hence lead to an uncomfortable evening? She immediately dismissed a musical interpretation of 'Pride and Prejudice' because that was just plain wrong and Rachel would probably interpret it as meaning Rachel was Elizabeth to her Mr Darcy and really there were no parallels. Well none beyond the rich and poor, pretty and proud, verbose and taciturn comparisons anyway. None of the reviews she read of other nearby performances persuaded her there was an outstanding production begging to be seen. What else would Rachel be interested in? She could hardly settle for the usual meal, film or both - she didn't delve too closely into why not. Suddenly an idea came to her, Rachel liked music, she just needed to find a decent band playing live on the Friday night. She paused, who could help her with getting tickets? Quinn grimaced - Puck was the go to person for this kind of thing with his links to the Lima live music scene. Could she bring herself to ask him? She scrolled to the never used number on her phone. He owed her far more than two measly tickets. An awkward five minutes later she had tickets to see 'The Ginger Aardvarks' who Puck assured her were 'the' up and coming band in Lima. He also assured her he wouldn't be at the gig nor would he mention getting her two tickets as he definitely had no wish to be castrated with an apple peeler. She wasn't sure where the idea of an apple peeler came from but the specific nature of the threat served its purpose. Quinn felt pleased. She'd go with Rachel to this gig, they'd be quits on the organising trips front and her guilt would then cease. Nomal, monotonous and dreary life would then be able to resume.


	7. Chapter 7

**As ever this wasn't quite what I intended - I just can't do concise. Anyway thanks reviewers ) a speedy update comes about due to your inspiring and kind words (although as I'm currently clueless about dates 3 and 4 at the moment I'm going to soon grind to a halt. Fell free to PM suggestions provided you can handle me not taking them on!)**

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><p>Friday evening couldn't come fast enough for Rachel yet she had two school days before then. She skipped into school uncertain of what to expect from any encounters with Quinn but trying to set her expectations realistically low. Mercedes and Tina joined her at her locker, Tina looking concerned and Mercedes slightly disgruntled. The pair of them had a non-verbal exchange of head inclinations and eye movements until Tina took the hint.<p>

"Rachel, about this impossible challenge ridiculousness.." she started. Rachel beamed at her, which put Tina off her stride.

"Mercedes and I," she continued

"Mostly you," complained Mercedes.

"have decided it was a silly idea and we're happy to forget the conversation ever happened," Tina finished. Rachel narrowed her eyes and then stared intently at Mercedes.

"Forget it ever happened?" queried Rachel still looking at Mercedes. That seemed exceedingly unlikely.

"Well, not mention it too much," clarified Mercedes because Rachel being proved wrong was too big a gloating opportunity to miss but she could tone it down - a tiny bit.

"Look Rachel, you get enough of a hard time from Quinn generally and her hostility seems to have upped a bit since the er challenge," Tina shot a disapproving look at an unrepentant Mercedes. "As your friends, we don't think it's right to put you in that position." Rachel switched her gaze to Tina. The speech was really quite sweet and the concern for well being was heart warming. She carefully composed a response in her head only for it to be made redundant as Quinn passed them. She directed a small grin towards Rachel accompanied with a softly spoken yet clearly friendly "Morning Rachel."

Rachel felt inordinately pleased as Tina and Mercedes exchanged startled glances. She closed her locker with a loud bang, shocking Tina and Mercedes out of their stupor.

"I appreciate and thank you for your concern but where's the fun in a life without challenge?" Announced Rachel with a grin and then, unable to resist the lure of the dramatic, she added," I venture forth to take on the many facets of Quinn Fabray armed only with a wide selection of fruit." Mercedes and Tina looked at her as if she'd gone mad, or rather, madder than usual," Hopefully I won't need an apple today" finished Rachel as she skipped off to class waving the afore mentioned apple in her hand. Mercedes shared a shrug with Tina.

"Sometimes I don't know who I feel more sorry for," Mercedes mused," Quinn, because a determined Rachel has her in her sights or Rachel, because Quinn can be so unexpectedly cutting and mean."

"The only certainty is that Rachel's going to get hurt," said Tina sadly," and no amount of fruit is going to protect her from that."

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><p>Quinn had settled for eye contact, a nod of acknowledgement, and the occassional hello as her strategy of dealing with Rachel - her nod being almost imperceptible if any of the Cheerios or jocks were around. In return Rachel always beamed at her, eyes twinkling with merriment and a joie de vivre vibe positively rolling off her in waves causing Quinn to feel alternately really pleased and then really disappointed in herself. She found herself engineering encounters with Rachel, preferably with as few witnesses as possible, just to experience the feelings engendered by Rachel being apparently so pleased to see her. Quinn felt energised in her search to find out as much about The Ginger Aardvarks as possible so she would appear at least a bit knowledgable when they attended the gig on friday. So far her quest for information had been largely unsuccessful, they had a website which was under development, some twitter postings about their guest vocalist for the summer 'enhancing an already rocking band' and a couple of mentions for upcoming engagements. Nothing to impress Rachel with. Quinn's thoughts turned to possible childhood anecdotes she could relate to Rachel - the problem with embarrassing stories being you spent an awful lot of time and energy trying to forget them. She briefly considered asking her Mum and then dismissed it. Recalling her childhood would no doubt make her mum weepy and mournful for those days before her marriage all went wrong - Quinn always had this suspicion that her mum somehow held Quinn responsible for her father's infidelity as if her teenage mum status was so detrimental to the family reputation that him being an adulterer was small beer in comparison. Perhaps not the best source for childhood tales. She needed to dig through the family photos for something to jog her memory. Oh and she needed to give Rachel some clue as to their Friday night plans.<p>

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><p>Friday night found Rachel pacing back and forth in her room wondering whether she should tell her Dads who she was really heading on out with or leave them to their incorrect assumptions. She'd been deliberately vague to avoid the Spanish Inquisition that would surely follow the mention of the name Fabray. She'd once mistakenly mentioned that Quinn had called her names at school and suddenly her fathers embarked on a long and intolerant rant about, ironically, Russell Fabray's intolerance. This was followed by comments of 'like father like daughter' and Rachel had decided that pointing out how annoyed they got when people said that about her would probably be unhelpful. She didn't need the earache and besides she didn't have time for it. Decision made, she headed downstairs to say goodbyes to her dads so she could wait outside the house.<p>

Quinn was touched to see Rachel was so keen for the evening to start that she was waiting at the kerbside. Rachel hopped into the car smiling at Quinn.

"So can I know the plan for the evening that required me to dress casually?" she asked " I hope this" she gestured to her jeans and plaid shirt," is suitably casual."

Quinn grinned back ,"You look great," she responded realising that Rachel looked so cute that she wanted to hug her. She blushed, how inappropriate was that? " Well, the plan is a trip to the Lima bean so I can confess my childhood misdemeanours for my humiliation and your entertainment," she liked the fact Rachel clapped her hands in excitement, "followed by a live band at a venue off the High Street"

Rachel released a huge sigh of relief," Sounds great. I must admit I feared you'd got us tickets to the musical Pride and Prejudice currently being butchered nightly at the local theatre."

"I dismissed it as an option very quickly," laughed Quinn,"The review I read mentioned babies and I'm sure there weren't any in the Jane Austen original."

"i should have known you'd have discerning taste - after all you've chosen me to accompany you," Rachel responded before after a moments silence asking "So who are we going to see?"

"Apparently the up and coming band in the area. They're called The Ginger Aardvarks. Ever heard of them?" Quinn asked venturing a glance at Rachel and noting a big knowing grin on her face.

"Yes I think I've heard of them. They usually play a mix of covers and original songs I believe. I'm keen to see them perform live. Should be a fun evening," Rachel stated a smile still playing on her lips.

"I hope so," replied Quinn as she carefully parked the car at a spot she considered equidistance from The lima Bean and the hall where the band were scheduled to appear.

"Have you ever been to the gig venue?" asked Quinn as they exited the car.

"A few times but my Dads are rather wary about letting me stay out late so not as often as I'd like," Quinn noted a slightly sad look cross Rachel's face," But as tonight's not a school night I have carte blanche on what time I return home provided I text every half hour after 11pm. What about you, are you under curfew?"

Quinn laughed bitterly," The worst has already happened as far as my parents are concerned. Now there are no constraints on what I do or how late I stay out. My mum won't notice," she stared ahead and fought the urge to throw herself a pity party. This was not helped by Rachel reaching out to touch her hand.

"I'm sorry," whispered Rachel quietly.

"Hey, even I can't blame this on you," joked Quinn feebly, relieved they'd arrived at the coffee shop but slightly sad that Rachel stopped rubbing circles on the back of her hand.

As they entered Quinn couldn't stop herself from searching the room to see whether there was anyone present who might recognise her. Rachel noticed the room sweep and felt disappointed but not surprised.

"We could go somewhere less popular if you're worried about being seen with me," she said trying to disguise her disappointment. Quinn blushed and felt slightly ashamed

"I was just looking for a table" she replied slightly defensively, "Why don't you reserve that sofa over there and I'll purchase drinks and a snack" There was a pause while Rachel scrutinised Quinn's face carefully before finally smiling, issuing her order and heading off to the corner where Quinn had indicated a free sofa. Quinn felt relieved and headed off to place her order before sitting alongside Rachel on the sofa and carefully taking an A5 envelope out of her bag. Rachel eyed the envelope curiously.

"Okay let's get the painful part of the evening out of the way. I've three childhood tales to relate with some visual aids just to up my embarrassment factor a notch - besides I'm hoping to see the Shirley Temple tape" she paused to admire the fading of eagerness on Rachel's face to be replaced by a noticeable pink tinge.

"No chance," spluttered Rachel. That tape was on her list of items that needed destroying before she achieved fame and glory - or at least taken out of the hands of her oh-so-proud parents before said fame was achieved.

"So chronologically or ascending order of embarrassment?" Quinn asked, sipping her coffee. Rachel reached for her green tea "your stories, your embarrassment so your choice" she smiled settling back on the sofa.

Quinn withdrew a photo of her as a four year old wearing a fairy outfit complete with a sparkly tiara and wand and passed it to Rachel.

"So the prom Queen fixation started at an early age then" quipped Rachel.

"No Rachel, I'm a fairy" mock huffed Quinn

"Don't let your Dad hear you saying that," laughed Rachel before involuntarily putting her hand to her mouth - maybe Quinn didn't like her father being ridiculed for his rampant homophobia. She cleared her throat "You look cute so it's not really embarrassing."

"Ah but shortly after this photo was taken my big sister used that very wand to cast a spell that she assured me would enable me to fly" she looked through the envelope," So that's the 'before' shot and this is the 'after' shot."

She handed over a picture of herself with a visibly large egg shaped bump on her forehead and a plaster cast on her arm "Good job I jumped from the arm of the sofa rather than the top of the stairs which was my original plan," she added as Rachel began to giggle.

"One of the few pluses of being an only child, no evil influences. Don't worry, that certainly isn't a cue for a self-penned song," Rachel said glancing at Quinn and smiling before looking at the photos again. Quinn had been just as stunning visually as a young child as she was now.

Quinn handed over another shot in which a toddler-aged Quinn was looking at the camera, face and hands covered in chocolate. Rachel awwed at the picture.

"My mum left me in the kitchen briefly with a recently iced chocolate cake on the table that she thought I couldn't get on to."

Rachel nodded encouragingly," this is how I looked when she returned. Mum asked me who had touched the cake and I replied" It wasn't me and I won't do it again"". Rachel chuckled appreciatively " Damned by your own precociousness then," she commented.

"Of course I was mainly an exceptionally well behaved child so stories of misdemeanours are few and far between but this final story is one where the family embarrassment factor was high. I must have been about eight years old," she drew the final picture out of the envelope

" And rather angelic looking" offered Rachel as Quinn rolled her eyes.

"It was a sunny day and we were seated in the front pew of the church listening to a sermon on the creation story" Rachel couldn't anticipate where this story was heading so nodded her understanding," It suddenly occurred to me that although God created the world in six days no-one had explained who made God. So I asked my father and when he just told me to be quiet I decided I needed to ask our pastor in the middle of the sermon. I kept loudly repeating, "Who made God?" My father was horrified and kept shouting at me to be quiet but I was keen to have an answer beyond 'God moving in mysterious ways.'" Quinn laughed," I couldn't sit down for a week after that."

Rachel looked horrified" Your dad hit you? " she asked in disbelief.

"Tanned my hide, made me pray for God's forgiveness and write to apologise to the Pastor. Even my big sister felt sorry for me," Quinn reminisced.

"Quinn, that's terrible," Rachel again reached out to offer comfort, this time settling her hand on Quinn's jean covered thigh.

"My allegiance to the church has always been suspect since then," continued Quinn," Still I was spared sermons until I ' was old enough to appreciate them' so it wasn't all bad."

She looked up into Rachel's sorrowful eyes " Hey Rach" she put her hand over Rachel's," It wasn't always like that, for most of my childhood my Dad was all bark and no bite. Now he has no say about what I do. His affair with a tattooist has finally overtaken my 'who made God' story as the favourite Fabray tale at church. Or at least I s'pose so, Mum and I don't go anymore."

Rachel rotated her hand on Quinn's thigh so she was holding Quinn's hand and now stared at their joined hands. Quinn felt her heart rate begin to speed up.

" Organised religion is vastly over rated," Rachel offered, having dismissed a schmaltzy "you're so brave". She squeezed Quinn's hand before letting it go and then wrapped both hands round her teacup.

"So, do you often go to see live bands?" asked Rachel wondering what other hobbies, besides photography and live music, Quinn kept carefully hidden.

"Not really" Quinn freely admitted," I spend most of my free time listening to music rather than watching TV but I don't tend to go out to see Bands. My tastes are fairly eclectic except I really can't stand Opera despite my father's best efforts nor am I very tolerant of music of a religious only notable exception being Handel's Messiah."

"Hallelujah, hallelujah hallelujah, hal- leh - luuu-jah," sang Rachel quietly to be met by a snort from Quinn

"What about you?" she asked out of politeness. Everyone knew Rachel had encyclopaedic knowledge about show tunes; there could hardly be time to appreciate anything else.

"I think Rock might be my favourite, but I'll listen to anything as long as it's not homophobic or misogynist - so not much Rap or Hip Hop," volunteered Rachel," Oh and I know a bit about showtunes as, despite their best efforts, my Dads do occasionally conform to stereotypes."

"know a bit?" queried Quinn with a raised eyebrow and knowing smile.

" I'm not too hot on show tunes pre 1950s" replied Rachel sheepishly," but it's on my list of things to do... Very low down to be honest, I think gaining an award recognising my lifetime's work comes above it."

Quinn smiled at her fondly "Rach, you know more than a bit. It's so impressive just the sheer amount of different show tunes you're able to suggest for any theme. I'm always in awe."

Rachel looked at her in surprise before shyly muttering "Thanks."

Quinn felt pleased with herself, who knew Rachel was shy about receiving compliments? It seemed odd that someone who came across as so self-confident could be so affected by some mild praise. Quinn reflected briefly and then realised how rarely anyone in Glee club ever praised Rachel for her performances. She recalled how affected and touched Rachel had been to receive the MVP award.

Quinn looked at her watch " We'd better be going if we're going to get a good spot," she prompted. Rachel stood," Well thanks for sharing your childhood stories and I'm sorry if it brought up things you'd rather forget."

"I'm fine Rachel. I've had an enjoyable time so far,"Quinn replied and they stood staring awkwardly at each other, Rachel wanting to hug Quinn to compensate in some way for her father and Quinn wanting to hug Rachel and tell her what an amazingly awesome singer she was. Instead they settled for an exchange of half embarrassed grins and then headed for the door. The evening was already a success as far as each of them was concerned and that was before the main event had happened. Rachel had to fight the urge to skip along the road and Quinn struggled to keep a permanent grin off her face in case she came across as a bit manic. As long as The Ginger Aardvarks didn't turn out to be a Rap or Hip-Hop act, an enjoyable evening was assured.

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><p><strong>Sorry, gig next time<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay so promise I won't cut a chapter in half again.. thanks to those kind people sparing the time to share their thoughts and a big thanks to jspencer1986 for beta-ing for me ( any errors are mine though).**

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><p>There was a chill in the air as they left the cafe and headed towards the band venue. Quinn reached out for Rachel's hand to drag her across a road just before the lights changed and then didn't release it. As they approached the hall it was apparent that The Ginger Aardvarks were indeed a popular local band as the queue snaked back halfway down the block. Quinn instinctively dropped Rachel's hand, and then registered Rachel's sigh of resignation. There wasn't anything to say to redeem her actions so she feigned ignorance of any wrongdoing. They joined the end of the long queue and Rachel stopped herself from making some comment about queuing separately. She needed to focus on the positive - she was here with Quinn and that would have seemed impossible just a few days ago.<p>

"Obviously the place to be," said Rachel, looking around them. "Good choice Quinn."

Quinn felt a pleased glow. Maybe if this went well she might even bring herself to thank Puck. Her thoughts were interrupted by a deep voice asking, "Pipsqueak is that you?" She turned to see a tall, well-built and, quite frankly, fierce looking man, rather incongruously smiling at Rachel. He was dressed in black, wearing dark shades and obviously part of the venue's security staff.

"Hi, Ron," Rachel replied, "Busy night, eh?" She gestured to the long queue around them.

"What ya doing here? Get yourself up to the front," Ron growled at her, and it would have been churlish to ignore him. Quinn sent Rachel a quizzical look.

"I was here a bit in the summer," she offered as the security guards on the door waved them through, not even asking to see Quinn's tickets. They made their way to the performance space with Rachel exchanging pleasantries with any staff they met on the way. Quinn wondered at Rachel's need to be friendly with everybody.

They entered a high-ceilinged hall with a bar at the rear and a darkened stage at the front. Rachel headed towards the bar and Quinn trailed behind arriving in time to hear the smiling barman ask, "Your usual?"

Quinn gaped at Rachel. Underage drinking, really?

"Same for my friend too," Rachel smiled back and two bottles of water appeared on the bar in front of them.

"On the house," the barman said, waving away Rachel's attempt to pay.

"Thanks, George," Rachel offered another smile as Quinn tried to mask the bewilderment that must have been showing on her face.

"'Here a bit' is quite an understatement. Do you know all the staff?" Quinn couldn't keep the whine out of her voice. This trip had been her idea yet Rachel seemed to be in charge, or at least not in need of her.

Rachel scanned the room for a few minutes looking carefully at all staff members. "Yes," she finally replied with a mischievous grin and no offer of further information. Quinn couldn't decide whether Rachel was cute or annoying but decided not to humour her with any further questions. She looked around her - it looked like the sort of place that would be rather seedy in the cold light of day but passed for atmospheric when semi-lit.

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><p>The hall was beginning to fill up so they made their way to the front of the stage so that they were in a central position. The crowd numbers continued to swell until eventually the lights dimmed and the warm-up act took the stage. Rachel felt the first burst of live music vibrate on her chest and fought to control the surge of emotion it engendered. Live music always did this to her but she'd rather not be noticed, tearful with pleasure from the music; it would only give Quinn something to tease her about. She'd sensed Quinn's annoyance at her knowing her way around the venue but couldn't identify why that was annoying so she kept quiet so as not to irritate Quinn further. Quinn, though, was too busy trying to adjust to the sheer loudness of the music as well as scolding herself for sulking. So this wasn't the new experience for Rachel that she'd hoped it would be; it didn't mean they couldn't enjoy it. Lucky they hadn't come here to talk - her ears would be ringing by the end of the evening if everything continued at the current volume.<p>

The room temperature was beginning to rise and the warm-up band was trying a little too hard to capture the attention of the distracted and chatting audience. All the songs blurred into one another and sounded rather similar (God, she sounded just like her father) with the lyrics being indistinguishable over the guitar. It was almost a relief when the slightly socially awkward lead singer announced their final song. A burst of over-enthusiastic playing and singing followed, then the band finally left the stage to a smattering of applause and Quinn's relief.

"So, what did you think of them?" Quinn asked.

"4," said Rachel, and Quinn agreed with a grin.

"Care to elaborate?" she asked.

"Lots of room for improvement," replied Rachel, "but if they relaxed a bit and were more selective about their songs I think they have potential."

Quinn nodded, "I thought they were awful too."

"They could play their instruments and sing in tune and that's a big plus believe me," Rachel said. "They were a lot better than some of the acts you get here."

Quinn's reply remained unvoiced as the lights dipped and the Ginger Aardvarks were introduced to enthusiastic applause with one Rachel Berry leading the way. The band came onto the stage and Quinn was rather disappointed to notice none of them were redheads - mind you, none of them resembled aardvarks either so why was she surprised?

The drummer counted the band in and guitar chords soared above the excited hubbub. The lead singer grasped the microphone and loud vocals joined the wall of sound. Quinn glanced at Rachel and then did a double take; Rachel was singing along and seemed to know all the lyrics. A couple of catchy numbers followed as well as some songs Quinn was sure she'd never heard before - all of which Rachel was able to sing along with. She dragged her eyes away from Rachel to look at the stage only to spot the lead singer suddenly noticing Rachel. He began grinning at Rachel and Rachel beamed back. He then proceeded to sing the next number, about missing his girlfriend, to Rachel and she was apparently lapping it up. Quinn was outraged but not really sure why. Rachel had come with her, they weren't meant to be picking boys up. She scowled her disapproval at the lead singer who continued to smile and sing at Rachel with a rather excessive amount of eye contact thrown in. Quinn wanted to throw her arm around Rachel's shoulders but that seemed a bit foolish, as it wouldn't stop the Mutual Appreciation Society meeting being acted out in front of her. The song came to an end and thankfully so did the eye sexing.

The singer quickly had a few words to his band mates before announcing, "For those of you who follow us we have a rare treat tonight, as I notice our summer guest singer is in the audience." Cheers and shouts of 'Rachel! Rachel!' suddenly surrounded them. The pieces finally fell into place in Quinn's brain as to why Rachel knew everybody, but that still didn't settle the question of what, if anything, was going on between Rachel and the lead singer. After all, Rachel had a bit of a soft spot (or was that a blind spot) for tall men who could sing.

"So, Rachel, if you'd like to join us on stage," the lead singer singled her out of the crowd with an extended arm. Rachel laughed, glanced at Quinn and then indicated she was declining the invitation. The chanting of her name had reached a deafening level and was still building up to a crescendo.

Quinn placed her mouth against Rachel's ear in order to be heard. "You better go up there before there's a riot." Rachel looked unconvinced. Quinn leaned in again. "Besides I love hearing you sing. Please sing for me." Rachel gave her a surprised and stunned look before grinning and heading towards the steps on to the stage. She could still feel Quinn's lips on her ear and she felt a bit dazed.

Thunderous applause greeted her arrival on stage then died down a bit, only to be re-ignited when Rachel took the microphone off the stand and husked, "Hello boys," to the band. She swallowed and wet her lips, hoping she hadn't gone permanently husky just from Quinn whispering in her ear. She turned to face the audience and gave Quinn a big wink as the band played the introduction to 'Dead Ringer for Love'.

Quinn was warmed by the wink but retained enough brainpower to turn on the video camera on her phone and focus on Rachel as she swayed in time to the music. She strutted, all attitude and arrogance, singing her part of the duet into the face of the lead singer, alternately posing with her hand on her hip or pointing at him. They had obviously sung this together quite a few times and the to-ing and fro-ing with the vocals and movements across the stage made for a highly entertaining and highly energetic performance. Rachel and her co-singer grinned at each other as the song ended before they acknowledged the loud and sustained applause that greeted their performance. A quick exchange of words and a microphone stand was placed centre stage. Rachel had a quick drink of water before walking up to the microphone.

"Is it just me or is it hot in here?" she asked the audience as she shrugged out of her shirt to reveal a tight fitting black tank top. Appreciative shouts and whistles greeted her actions. Quinn's mouth was suddenly extremely dry and her videoing became a little shaky. She wished she had her camera here with her to capture Rachel's beauty properly. Perhaps she could get a job as Rachel's official photographer and spend the rest of her days trying to capture that hotness on film? She doubted whether she'd be getting any worthwhile stills from her video.

Rachel nodded at the drummer and the oh-so-familiar intro to 'I Love Rock 'n' Roll' began with Rachel swaying at the front before removing the microphone from the stand. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she grinned out into the audience and began singing, gyrating her hips in time to the music. She danced around the microphone stand, ran a hand down her thigh, and during the musical interlude put her hand behind her head and danced in a manner reminiscent of their 'Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin'' routine. She had the audience watching every move and joining in the chorus when Rachel directed the microphone their way. Quinn was captivated; Rachel was exuding a confident sexy persona and obviously enjoying herself. She seemed a different girl to the one she was at school. Mind you, the school did get glimpses of the alternate Rachel Berry - that 'Push It' routine was surely permanently burned into the brains of anyone who saw it.

Quinn refocused in time to watch Rachel smile her thanks at the noisy acclaim that greeted her performance. She thanked the band and picked up her shirt from where she had discarded it before heading back to the steps ignoring the shouts of 'more' and 'encore'. Quinn made her way to meet her rushing up and pulling Rachel into a tight hug before her brain could be engaged to stop her. This amazing woman was with her.

"You were fantastic," she said excitedly in Rachel's ear as a pleasantly surprised Rachel found the nerve to return the hug. "Truly amazing," gushed Quinn, unable to hold in her admiration. They clung onto each other both relishing the closeness. Reluctantly Rachel pulled away first, aware of just how hot (and sweaty) she was.

"I really need a drink. I think I'm melting," she said. Quinn reluctantly released her, stopping herself from kissing that adorable face, settling instead for grabbing her hand.

"Let's get the all conquering hero a drink," Quinn replied, leading her through the crowd. People congratulated Rachel and patted her on the back as they passed by. Quinn fought the urge to snap at them to take their hands off Rachel, wondering where her possessiveness was coming from.

The bar was quiet with most people pressed forward at the front of the hall to watch as the Ginger Aardvarks continued their set. George placed a bottle of iced water in front of Rachel congratulating her on yet another stunning performance. Quinn waved her phone around.

"Your awesomeness has been captured for posterity," she enthused as Rachel gulped down the water. "You want to see?"

"Contrary to popular opinion, I don't spend my time watching myself on video," Rachel replied quietly, regretting her words as she watched the smile fade from Quinn's face.

"Later maybe," she compromised as Quinn looked forlornly at her phone.

"I'll take one of the two of you," George joined in, taking the phone out of Quinn's hand. They exchanged bewildered glances before Quinn put her arm around Rachel and pulled her into her side, they rested their heads on each other as George finally took the picture and showed off his handiwork. It was a seemingly intimate shot. Quinn smiled at Rachel before enveloping her in a quick hug and saying, "I'm so happy to have seen you do that. You were incredible." She quickly pulled back to note the blush on Rachel's face. She really needed to get a grip, judging by the puzzled looks Rachel was directing her way. But who wouldn't want to hug all that talented adorableness?

"So, how come you only did a summer stint with the band?" Quinn decided intelligent conversation might help her fight her urge to touch and hug Rachel.

"My Dads aren't keen on me being in a band as it takes up too much time during the term and they're concerned about the drugs and alcohol culture. I did point out drugs and alcohol are available practically anywhere if I was that way inclined, but once I had to choose between dancing and singing lessons or being involved in the band it was all rather easy. So be careful with your video," she grinned.

"At least I had the summer," she added wistfully.

"Have I said you were amazing?" Quinn tried to dampen down her enthusiasm.

"I think you might have mentioned it," replied Rachel not quite knowing how to deal with Quinn fan-girling over her - it was rather a novel and slightly uncomfortable experience. She looked at Quinn carefully; one minute Quinn was embarrassed to be in her company and the next she was seemingly unable to resist the urge to hug her. Rachel had had a fabulous evening, even without counting the opportunity to perform, but she wasn't quite sure where she and Quinn stood. Quinn occasionally seemed fond of her and Rachel now feared that the four-date scenario might result in Quinn's feelings being hurt - _and yours_, whispered a small voice in her head.

Quinn fought the urge to express her admiration for Rachel's singing and was also doing well at resisting the urge to touch Rachel until they were joined by the band and needed to squeeze together to create enough room for everyone to sit round the table. Rachel introduced Quinn to the boys and after discovering the origin of their name (random numbers, a recipe book and a dictionary) Quinn spent her time watching the lead singer's interactions with Rachel. A woman joined them, hugging Rachel before she proceeded to wrap herself around the lead singer. Quinn glanced down at her hands feeling slightly foolish. She now allowed herself to engage in the conversation the drummer had been trying to initiate; she feigned interest in his stories of famous bands he had nearly played for and smiled politely as he continued to relate stories about himself designed to impress. Meanwhile, Rachel was becoming slightly irritated at the lady-killer drummer's attempts to woo Quinn and the fact that Quinn had yet to cut him down to size with a scathing remark. She was familiar with the drummer's usual patter, so just as he was about to invite Quinn around to admire his memorabilia (and that wasn't even a euphemism), Rachel placed her hand on Quinn's knee almost causing her to jump out of her skin.

"I'm feeling really tired. Will we be going soon?" Rachel asked fighting back a yawn. "Being a real dead ringer for love and loving rock 'n' roll has really taken it out of me."

"No problem," Quinn smiled back, taking the opportunity for a quick hand squeeze and standing up. Rachel felt inordinately pleased that she had been chosen over the drummer. Now was not the time to appear smug. They said their goodbyes (Rachel aiming an extra big smile at the drummer), promised to be back soon provided it wasn't a school night, and headed back to the car.

Rachel fell asleep almost as soon as she'd put on her seatbelt. Quinn gazed affectionately at her as she parked her car outside the Berry house. It seemed a shame to have to wake her. She moved Rachel's hair out of her face and stroked her cheek.

"Rachel," she whispered, completely unconvincing in her attempt to wake her. Such long eyelashes. She needed to stop admiring Rachel while she slept. Quinn gently shook Rachel's shoulder.

"Rach, you're home." The tired girl stirred before rubbing her eyes and looking a bit embarrassed.

"Sorry Quinn, I've been terrible company," she croaked.

"Don't worry about it, Rachel - no wonder you're tired after that energetic performance," she sympathised.

"I've enjoyed the evening, Quinn. From hearing about your childhood misdemeanours to watching one of my favourite bands," Rachel's voice began to lose it's croakiness to Quinn's dismay.

"I've had a great time too. I've really liked... It's been," Quinn wondered why her sentence forming skills had deserted her. She and Rachel gazed at each other as Quinn moved a bit closer uncertain what she was trying to do. Rachel licked her lips, glancing at Quinn's and then back into her eyes. Rachel wondered if Quinn could hear the pounding of her heart. It was difficult to breathe and she felt light headed. They continued to stare at each other for a little longer until Rachel yawned yet again.

"I think you really need to get to bed, Rach," Quinn smiled at her then opened her arms. Rachel leaned in for a hug. Quinn felt pleased; this time Rachel had chosen to hug her rather than it being initiated by Quinn - a small but significant moment.

Rachel let herself out of the car and dragged herself up the garden path. Quinn watched until she was safely in the house before pulling away in her car. Her phone beeped with a text as she parked on her driveway.

**Thanks for a fabulously enjoyable evening - we really should do it again sometime. R x**

She looked at it and smiled before replying.

**I'd like that but it's your turn to decide on the next activity. Sleep well Q x **

She attached the photo of them taken by George and then clicked on the video she recorded. She smiled her way through it – no doubt about it, Rachel Berry was an incredibly talented and criminally under appreciated singer. She sighed, and just maybe she was the tiniest bit in love with her.

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><p><strong><em>Well we all know the youtube clip that inspired the second song...<em>**


	9. Chapter 9

**Apologies for the delay - seems a bit ungrateful to the regularly reviewers so my humble apologies. A big thanks to jspencer1986 for trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - cheers ;)**

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><p>Rachel lay in her bed staring at the ceiling -or rather in the general direction of the ceiling, as it was a bit hard to make out in the inky darkness of her room. The text she'd received earlier from Mercedes saying she was watching Mission Impossible on television and thinking of her was causing her to reflect on her whole situation.<p>

She had enjoyed her evening with Quinn, maybe a little too much, as now she was feeling slightly guilty about the...challenge? It wasn't a bet as there was no material gain for either party - although there was the possibility of a considerable loss of face on her part, and the loss of a chance to gloat on Mercedes' side should Rachel triumph. Not a bet then. So if it wasn't a bet, why did she feel like she was doing something wrong?

Okay, it would be morally and ethically wrong to become emotionally involved with Quinn for the duration of the challenge, but since she didn't intend to stop going out with Quinn once the magic four had been reached, surely there was no harm in her behaviour - she just needed to hold off on displays of affection until date five.

So she'd have her cake and eat it, lording it over Mercedes and still going out with Quinn. She allowed herself sometime to adjust to that idea before sighing heavily - this still seemed a bit disingenuous. 'Challenge' rather than 'bet' could be seen as just semantics - she had an image in her head of herself, running after a furious Quinn, trying to elucidate on this point. No, another option was needed.

Right, she could find Mercedes and Tina and forfeit the challenge thus freeing her up to socialise with Quinn without guilt. She'd have to put up with a smug, and no doubt rather vocal, Mercedes but, hey, she was ready to make such a sacrifice because she liked Quinn that much. She pondered this option for a while. It seemed the one with the least amount of possible upset associated with it. It would be like the challenge never happened. Promising, she mused.

However, if excessive watching of TV soaps in her youth taught her anything, it was that although Mercedes and Tina were sworn to secrecy (more by luck than by good judgment, she grudgingly admitted), everyone knew that the big reveal would come at the most inopportune moment; the moment guaranteed to be most detrimental to her emotional well being (although she doubted in her case it would lead to a self-destructive downward spiral involving substance abuse). Secrets never stayed secret – a fundamental law of the universe - and wouldn't she look dishonest and underhanded once all was revealed? So, while it was a nice idea in theory it was the one with the highest potential for a disastrous outcome in reality.

That left her confessing to Quinn about the challenge. She considered whether she could do this by song, as Quinn seemed to want to hug her when she sang so maybe the effects of her confession would be lessened? Probably not particularly viable, and anyway, there wasn't an _I-asked-you-out-as-part-of-a-challenge-but-have-now-seen-the-error-of-my-ways_ song suited to her situation. A singing confession was vetoed then, or at least placed on a 'last resort and desperate measures' list.

Perhaps she could prepare a playlist of 'mea culpa, please forgive me' songs and then, with that playing quietly in the background, gently, softly and kindly explain to Quinn that she'd...invited her out with dubious intent? Been toying with her feelings? Used her as a means of sticking it to Mercedes? All her imagination could come up with as an appropriate response to that confession was an irate Quinn calling her names and throwing a slushy at her. Probably deservedly so. Quinn would never go out with her again and that mere thought made her want to cry.

To summarise then, the nature of the challenge would be revealed at some point and it would be best if Quinn heard about it from her - although the impact would be lessened if they were on at least date five. She needed to forfeit the challenge at an appropriate moment after date four so that her motivations could not be called into question. Simple. Rachel sighed again.

So, in terms of immediate action, she needed to force the pace on the dating front so there was less time for a disastrous leaking of information to occur. Date number three needed to happen this weekend and Rachel needed to hold back on physical manifestations of her admiration for Quinn until date five was reached, for reasons she found hard to articulate - some form of punishment? Not so simple, but she had the will power and determination to comply.

Anyway, maybe she was misreading all of this. Did she just like Quinn because Quinn apparently liked her? Did Quinn really like her? Because not wanting to be seen with her in public was hardly a ringing endorsement of great affection. Was Quinn just in love with her singing voice? Thoughts churning, she turned on her side and closed her eyes. Some sleep was needed so she could plan the next date - she just needed to stop replaying the memory of Quinn rushing to hug her when she exited the stage earlier.

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><p>Quinn was also having difficulty sleeping. She flicked through the photos on her phone again before quietly playing the video of Rachel singing. Okay, in terms of what she wanted, she at least wanted to be friends with Rachel Berry - the outside-of-school Rachel Berry, that is. She wanted to be friends that hugged each other, as Rachel was gloriously huggable and fitted perfectly into her arms. Quinn stopped for a moment to recall the feel of Rachel pressed up against her and hugging her back. Yes, she definitely wanted to be hugging friends.<p>

She pictured them hugging at school and imagined the furore that would cause - her want to be hugging friends with Rachel only wavered slightly. That was a good sign, surely? It was odd as Quinn never really wanted to hug her friends before. She took a deep breath. She wanted to be friends who hugged, held hands and...her mouth went dry. Kissed? She imagined what it would be like to touch her lips against Rachel's; those plump, inviting lips, obviously designed with kissing in mind. She felt a surge of excitement rush through her. Kiss those lips, maybe lick those lips? It was getting decidedly hot in her room.

She hugged her pillow trying to imagine it was Rachel and then gently kissed it, picturing Rachel kissing her back and moaning. Woah, sensory overload, followed by a massive attack of embarrassment. Did she really just kiss her pillow? 'I Kissed A Girl' started playing in her head - 'I'll kiss a girl and I'll love it' more like.

_Oh Quinn you've got it bad,_ her snarky inner voice laughed at her. She needed to stop thinking about Rachel. She gave her pillow one last hug, valiantly resisted the urge to kiss it, and tried to clear her mind for sleep. Images of Rachel's lips (and what they might taste like) invaded her dreams.

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><p>Rachel awoke the next morning determined to have date three at least organised by the end of the day and definitely completed by the end of the weekend, Quinn permitting. There was just the slight problem of what said date would be. As she ran on her elliptical she dispensed with her Quinn video and instead sifted through ideas in her head. Going out for a meal was dismissed as a poor idea almost before the thought formed. The lack of suitable restaurants in Lima made the possibility of being seen extremely high and Rachel wasn't sure how successful a date could be judged to be if one of the pair insisted on sitting at a separate table. Rachel was partially convinced that's what Quinn would do.<p>

A home cooked meal was out for two reasons. One, her dads wouldn't let her have the run of the house without extensive cross-examination of precisely who she was inviting over, for how long and what her intentions were. Two, there was the minor matter of her cooking skills being an area in dire need of improvement – she intended to have her own personal chef once fame was achieved and hence cooking never really came high up on her list of skills to acquire. Worst case scenario, she could create a rather mean salad, but salads weren't exactly the height of haute cuisine.

Quinn liking photography didn't really inspire her either - a trip out so Quinn could take photos of the landscape didn't feel like much of a spectator sport. She briefly toyed with the idea of a hot air balloon flight, which her Dads had taken for their anniversary - great photographic opportunities but probably impractical to organise for this weekend and also well outside her price range, as her current operational budget was close to zero. What else was there?

Quinn seemed to, understandably, really like listening to her sing but a one-woman show to a one-woman audience in her basement just felt all kinds of wrong. 'Would you like to come over and hear me sing?' also sounded a little too narcissistic even for Rachel's tastes. Quinn would probably smother her in hugs if last night were anything to go by, which was a definite plus - but could she actually smuggle Quinn in past her Dads? Absolutely no chance. Her hypervigilant parents didn't miss a trick within their house. Not to mention the fallout that awaited when they found out she was associating with a Fabray.

A movie then? It would be dark so they were less likely to be spotted together, provided they could negotiate the well lit ticket office. Rachel dismissed the idea quickly. She didn't know Quinn well enough to be able to choose a film Quinn would enjoy, and she personally was a rather discerning moviegoer. There was absolutely nothing currently being shown that she wanted to see and she had no intention of being scared out of her wits by the current teenage movie of choice, some kind of horror extravaganza. Honestly, sometimes the characters just deserved what they got. Who in their right mind would choose to explore an unlit area of a building on their own, unless armed with a torch and an extremely deadly weapon such as a flame thrower? Had no-one heard the adage 'safety in numbers'?

This was so not going to happen. She knew that, in between being scared out of her wits and trying to block the film out with her eyes squeezed tightly shut and fingers jammed in her ears, she'd feel compelled to point out flaws in the plot. This annoyed the life out of her parents and they loved her unconditionally - no, movie watching with her was an activity reserved for much, much later in an established long term relationship, when excessively detailed, but highly accurate, film critiques wouldn't lead to a relationship breakdown.

Rachel finished her exercise regime and moved on to showering. So she needed an activity that was out of the house, that they were unlikely to be seen doing, which would be fun, that could be done on the cheap and before the end of the weekend. She wished she could ask someone for ideas. She thought about her Uncle John and then dismissed it. He'd tease her about her 'er, um, er, friend' but that was only a minor irritant, not in itself a reason to dismiss him. However the likelihood of Uncle John inadvertently letting something slip to her dads was astoundingly high. So far, touch wood, he obviously hadn't mentioned to her dads who her guest was at the exhibition but part of her felt it was only a matter of time before he mentioned 'that delightful Quinn girl' and her Dads, on realising a Fabray was involved, hit new heights of betrayal and annoyance.

Rachel was already compiling a 'Reasons why I invited Quinn Fabray' riposte to her fathers expected howls of outrage in her head. Obviously she hadn't committed it to paper because that would just tempt fate to let her dads accidentally find it.

Anyway, Uncle John's big interest, beside the arts, was being a rather keen and active member of Lima's Astronomy Society and that was hardly... Rachel paused thoughtfully. Stargazing was carried out in the dark and outdoors, not to mention being cost neutral and possibly fun.

She headed for her computer to check on the weather forecast as she dressed. Clear skies and a cold crisp evening was being forecast for Sunday night - was her decidedly amateurish knowledge of the heavens sufficient to make an evening on a cold dark hillside enjoyable? There was only so much research she'd be able to do between her singing and dancing lessons before tomorrow evening. More importantly, was Quinn even available? She glanced at her clock - no time like the present.

**Are you free Sunday evening? R x**

She headed downstairs for breakfast. There was little likelihood of Quinn being up at this hour. Her phone pinged.

**Is this like one of those e-mails where if I say yes you reply that's because you're _insert insult here_? Q ;)**

Rachel smiled.

**Of course not. If you're free how about wrapping up warm and going on an adventure with me, pick you up say 8pm? R x**

Her phone pinged almost instantaneously.

**An adventure? Q x**

Rachel wondered whether Quinn was about to brush her off.

**A marketing ploy to make our intended activity sound more exciting than it might turn out to be. Say yes, you know you want to R x**

Rachel held her breath awaiting a response. Had she been too forward?

**Is that a pretty please with whistles and bells? Q x**

Rachel released the breath she'd been holding.

**Of course, and topped off with a big juicy cherry :) R x**

Quinn smiled; did she dare add a hug to her sign off?

**In that case Ms Berry consider me eagerly awaiting an adventure with you Sunday night starting 8pm Q xo**

Rachel felt her face glow slightly – 'eagerly awaiting' left little room for ambiguity.

**Not just any old adventure, one outside in the dark. Appropriate attire is recommended. How come you're up so early? R xo**

Quinn grinned on noting the returned hug.

**Just off to run round the park several hundred times :(**

Rachel re-read the text – several hundred times? Who in their right mind would do that voluntarily?

**? You have a strange idea of how to have fun :) **

Quinn paused as she considered her response. Did she want to share with Rachel that she'd entered herself in a half marathon? It seemed a good idea and a long time away when she'd entered, only for it now to loom large on the horizon. What had she been thinking? Had thinking even been involved?

**Between you and me, I've entered myself in my first half marathon (next Saturday, gulp) so I really need to have some idea how long it might take me. Should be able to move again by Sunday night. Q x**

See, Quinn told herself; it wasn't that hard to share things about herself.

**Wow, the mere thought leaves me exhausted. Perhaps I can come and cheer you on - no pom poms I promise R xo**

An image of Rachel in a body hugging 'Team Quinn' t-shirt leaping about excitedly and waving pom poms made Quinn smile.

**Let's talk about it tomorrow when I'll have an idea of whether I'm going to make an idiot of myself. Looking forward to seeing you Q :) **

Rachel's disappointment at her offer of support not being snapped up was offset by the 'looking forward to seeing you' statement.

**Me too, as in, seeing you not seeing me! Tomorrow then, call me if you need rescuing today R xo**

**I will. Here's to tomorrows adventure, can't wait Q xo **

Rachel's pleasure at Quinn's words was cut short by her Dad moaning about how all of that would have been quicker spoken rather than texted and that conversational skills were a dying art form. Unusually, she didn't rise to the bait in defence of herself and her peers. After all, her Dad should be pitied for his inability to master something as basic as texting. She grunted non-commitally at him.

"All that money spent on elocution lessons and you can't even form a coherent sentence for your dear old Dad," her Dad whined from behind the paper as she prepared her breakfast fruit.

"Daddy, it's too nice a day to spend arguing. Why don't we just enjoy each other's company?" she gave him her best winning smile. He eyed her suspiciously before asking, "Any plans for rest of the weekend?"

"I might be out tomorrow night, studying," _the stars_, she added mentally, so technically she was telling the truth. "Is that okay?"

Her Dad nodded his assent and returned to his paper before reading out crossword clues, as was their Saturday morning ritual. All was well until the penultimate clue.

"Prostrate through neglect. Not entirely honest. Five, two, eight?" he asked thoughtfully, tapping his pen in an annoying, rhythmless fashion.

"Lying by omission," Rachel responded, feeling a blush rising up her cheeks. If her life were a movie, the last shot of this scene would be a close up on her face with foreboding music swelling in the background. Embarking on a path of doom of her own making would be the implication. If her life were indeed a movie, there was absolutely no chance of it being a rom-com and every possibility it would turn out to be a weepy tragedy as things currently stood. After all, as an ominous voice in her head kept chanting, secrets never stay secret.


	10. Chapter 10

**Cheers to all those who reviewed :) apologies for any annoying errors but thought I'd take advantage of a working Internet connection... **

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><p>Rachel's preparation for that evening's excursion had been meticulously thorough. She ran through her checklist one last time, warm clothes, picnic blanket, flasks of hot chocolate, star shaped cookies, star themed play list, star chart application on her phone, red torch and 2 pairs of binoculars. Her dads brief flirtation with stargazing was to thank for the torch and binoculars. Their interest in stargazing had waned before agreement on a suitable telescope could be reached however the binoculars had sufficient magnification for amateurs like her and Quinn. She was ready; the car had been pre-loaded to avoid arousing her dads' suspicions. It was a bit early to be heading off but she could always wait in her car, any more bouncing about excitedly downstairs in the kitchen and her Dads would think her studying story suspect. Rachel said goodbye to her fathers with a conspicuous pile of school files and books in hand as she headed out to her car.<p>

To Rachel's surprise Quinn was quickly out of her house and hurrying down the path to meet her despite her being over half an hour early. At least she thought it was Quinn but a matching hat and scarf ensemble with the scarf wrapped around her face many times meant Rachel only had the eyes to go on. Quinn unwrapped herself once in the car and shot Rachel an excited grin.

"All ready for an outdoors adventure in the dark. I hope this is deemed appropriate attire" Quinn indicated her thick coat, jeans and trainers, "So any clues to the nature of tonight's activity?"

"I'll let you figure it out from this" Rachel replied pressing play on her stars play list.

Two tracks in and Quinn was grinning.

"Really Rachel? We're going UFO spotting?" Quinn asked incredulously. Well, life on mars and starman led you to that conclusion unless you thought a trip into space a viable option.

" No Quinn. I'm in the sane 66% of the population that doesn't believe in UFOs." Rachel responded before adding," Although I'm not sure what having that as your first choice says about you"

" That I'm open minded?" Quinn wasn't sure what she felt about Rachel's snort of laughter in response to this so she decided to move on. Monty Python's 'Galaxy' song began to play following on from 'wishing on a star.'

"Star watching then" Quinn said " Looks like a good night for it. I've never really spent time looking at the stars. Do you know much about them?"

" I did a bit of stargazing with my Uncle John when I was younger but I'm an amateurish amateur at best - thankfully there's an app for it" grinned Rachel indicating her phone "First though we're heading for a spot that has minimal light pollution so we have maximum viewing pleasure"

" Well I'm prepared for the cold but not for the dark" replied Quinn.

" Don't worry, if necessary we can feel our way. I'll guide you" Rachel said earnestly. Quinn smirked, feeling her way in the dark guided by Rachel sounded fun but probably wasn't meant in the way her imagination was choosing to take it.

"So there's a chance I might get to see Ur" Quinn started

"I hope this isn't going to be some double entendre related to one of the planet names " Rachel interrupted hastily.

" I was going to say the sea of tranquillity on the moon oh ye of little faith " Quinn replied with an innocent look. Rachel seemed decidedly sceptical.

" So how did the running around the park hundreds of times go?" she asked

"Well I think there's a chance I'll finish on Saturday and before everyone's packed up and gone home - weather permitting as I don't fancy running in the rain" Quinn replied reflecting on her exciting Saturday.

"So why a half marathon?" asked Rachel in a tone suggesting she really wanted to ask 'are you mad?'

"Because I didn't think I could do a full one?" Quipped Quinn

"I meant, why choose a half marathon as a leisure activity, I'm sure there are other less time consuming and less painful things you can do " pondered Rachel.

"I wanted to challenge myself," Quinn paused thoughtfully and considered carefully why she had taken the half marathon on, "I like to have an end goal so preparing for a race seemed a good idea and actually it's just me against myself"

"You didn't want to return to cheerleading?" inquired Rachel – Quinn being Captain of the Cheerio's must say something about her athletic abilities as well as her often-demonstrated ability to intimidate practically anyone.

"No, not really. Cheerleading was an expectation thanks to my mum and big sister's experiences. Besides since my fall from grace there are too many members of that squad ready to stick the knife in and make my life miserable. It's ironic that at their politest my supposed ex-friends call me 'easy lay Fabray' when you can count my sexual encounters on one finger and yet would need to use powers of ten for theirs. I'm guilty only of stupidity and misplaced trust" Quinn tailed off wistfully – self-pity was not an attractive quality.

"One mistake doesn't define you." started Rachel

""Yeah but what an impact that one mistake had. I became homeless, experienced motherhood and caused my family to break up. That one mistake cost me my daughter, my father and most of the time it feels like my mother too."

_I will not cry I will not cry _Quinn chanted, trying to will away the tears hovering on the edge of her eyes. Rachel took her hand off the steering wheel to place it on Quinn's jean clad thigh.

"You're incredibly resilient Quinn. I envy you your strength of character," Rachel said sincerely glancing worriedly at Quinn.

Quinn laughed as she wiped away her tears - what was wrong with her?" Coming from you that's a real compliment "

Rachel looked puzzled.

"Rachel. You come into school, chin up and smiling, being pleasant to people who are consistently horrible to you and who try and put you down. That takes some doing," replied Quinn noting a shy look on Rachel's face.

"Maybe my experiences are all some sort of punishment for being such a bitch towards everyone but most especially you" Quinn mused before adding," I'm so sorry"

Rachel swallowed the lump in her throat, Quinn Fabray was apologising to her.

"I wouldn't wish any of what happened on you" Rachel said softly. Quinn placed her hand over Rachel's

"And that's what makes you such an amazing person" replied Quinn before adding," I don't deserve your friendship"

Rachel felt a wave of guilt crash over her but couldn't bring a confession to her lips - self interest or because she didn't want to hurt vulnerable Quinn?

" Quinn you so deserve to be happy and I'm honoured to count you as a friend" she said truthfully.

Quinn felt her heart squeeze, Rachel was just amazing. The journey continued with the pair holding hands as Quinn tried to bring her emotions under control and Rachel tried to shake off her feelings of guilt.

Rachel reluctantly withdrew her hand to allow her to park the car at the side of a dark road.

"Let's go and put my life into perspective by gazing at the infiniteness of the universe" said Quinn making a big effort to pull herself together. She offered Rachel a shaky smile in the dim light.

"Let's see if sea of tranquillity lives up to its billing" Rachel smiled back.

"As opposed to gazing at.. " Quinn didn't get to finish the sentence

'Quinn " said Rachel sharply.

They exited the car and Rachel unloaded two rucksacks from the backseat.

"I just need to do one thing before we start" stated Rachel putting the rucksacks by her feet. She then stepped into Quinn's personal space and wrapped her arms round her in a tight hug ignoring an inner voice telling her this was not her adhering to her plan. Quinn stiffened briefly in surprise before melting into the embrace. She felt like she wanted to stay in this position with Rachel holding her tightly forever.

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><p>Quinn was relieved when they finally found what Rachel considered the ideal spot with maximum potential for unobstructed gazing of the night sky. They'd stumbled over rough ground, tripped over tree roots and been grabbed at by thorny branches. Several possible vantage points had been carefully considered and then rejected by Rachel until their current location came up for approval. Here the horizon was suitably visible, the trees far enough away, the lights from human dwellings suitably distant and the ground even enough for them to be comfortable on. Rachel passed the torch to Quinn as she delved into the two rucksacks before spreading a picnic blanket on the grassy slope She unpacked the bags and then indicated for Quinn to sit on the blanket. It was eerily quiet – especially now the pair of them had stopped crashing about – and when Rachel extinguished the torch the darkness was all encompassing. Quinn could only hear the pair of them breathing, still out of breath from the unexpectedly steep climb not indicated by Rachel's map app (Rachel intended to feedback that contour lines where required for the next upgrade to said app.)<p>

As her eyes adjusted to the dark Quinn allowed herself to be amazed by the sheer volume and brightness of the stars. It was an incredibly moving view. Rachel turned the torch back on and this time a red light was emitted that allowed them to see what they were doing but didn't prevent them from seeing the stars. She handed Quinn a pair of binoculars.

"Sea of tranquillity is North East ish on the moon surface I believe – let's start with that"

Quinn adjusted her binoculars and commented on the clarity of her view. She'd located several craters any of which could be the Sea of Tranquillity but the naming didn't really matter. Rachel was holding up her phone to the sky and trying to relate the names on her phone screen to the view through her binoculars with limited success. A Rachel Berry running commentary on satellites and the origin of different stars and planets names didn't disappoint. She was a highly informed 'amateurish amateur' as Quinn expected.

Rachel put her binoculars aside and reached for the flasks. She handed Quinn a mug of hot chocolate before sorting herself out a drink from a different flask

"Poisoned eh?" asked Quinn

"You'd probably think so if I gave you this one, it's the vegan version with soy milk"

"Well might as well start getting used to it" said Quinn taking the cup out of Rachel's hand and then trying a sip. She fought hard to stop herself from spitting it out.

Rachel passed her a star shaped cookie. It was delicious, just melting on her tongue. Quinn muttered her appreciation, this had become the current highpoint of the trip bar the hug by the car.

Quinn finished her drink then lay on the blanket munching cookies, looking up at the stars and soaking up the tranquil atmosphere. Rachel quickly finished her drink and lay down next to her. It was incredibly peaceful if a somewhat cold experience.

"Do you think there might be intelligent life out there?" asked Rachel

"Well there's very little here so I s'pose there's a good chance" replied Quinn nibbling on yet another cookie.

"Speak for yourself." Rachel responded with mock annoyance," but when you look at how many stars there are it seems hard to believe that only this planet sustains life"

Quinn sighed, "God moves in mysterious ways"

"I always thought that was a reference to his poor dancing abilities," commented Rachel causing Quinn to burst into laughter.

They lay in silence contemplating; God disco dancing in Rachel's case, her insignificance in the grand scale of things in Quinn's. Gathering all her courage together Quinn reached over to take hold of Rachel's hand. Only them not wearing gloves could have made the moment more perfect. Quinn's heart raced and she ached to pull Rachel into a hug. Rachel just wished she'd never taken up Mercedes challenge but instead had just befriended Quinn because it was the right thing to do. She couldn't ruin this with an ill-timed, ill-prepared confession. Besides, she just wanted to hold on to this oh-so-perfect moment for ever, her, Quinn and the vast expanse of the universe laid out in front of them. If this was a movie a shooting star should appear about now, but it wasn't and a shooting star didn't - it still felt like this was a significant moment in their budding friendship.

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><p>There's only so much being overawed by your insignificance in the grand scale of things that one can take so as the temperature continued to fall they reluctantly decided to curtail their star gazing activities. They repacked their bags and Rachel again led the way torch in one hand and phone in the other.<p>

" I really enjoyed myself - thanks for inviting me" offered Quinn just before they set off on the return journey. Lying under the stars Rachel's hand in hers was definitely an activity she wished to repeat.

" I enjoyed it too" responded Rachel," Although next time I'll bring more cookies so that I actually consume more than one"

Quinn was unfazed by the implied criticism of her greed noticing instead the 'next time' remark and all it implied.

Once in the car the star mix began playing and this time Rachel was singing along with every track, yet still finding time to give a little background on each one. Quinn found herself just watching Rachel in the dim light and enjoying the amazing sound of her voice until

" You actually know all the words to calling 'occupants of interplanetary craft'? Asked Quinn in disbelief.

" I think you'll find that's," Rachel began to sing," interplanetary, most extraordinary craft"

"You make every song sound so amazing even when its actual lyrics are ridiculous" sighed fan girl Quinn overcome yet again with the strong urge to hug Rachel. Probably not a good idea if they were to arrive home in one piece. Rachel beamed at her.

"I think you might be my biggest fan Quinn - shall I sign a photo and t- shirt for you?"

"I'd rather have a signed cd of every song you've ever sang" said Quinn sincerely before hastily adding," On reflection please not My Headband or Only Child "

"Don't worry, no recordings of either of those two songs have ever been made - although maybe I should look into doing a mash up of them?" Rachel looked thoughtful. It would be a bit of a challenge to marry those two different ideas together - perhaps a rewrite as 'my only child's headband' was needed?

"As your biggest fan - please don't" smiled Quinn, "The world isn't, and won't ever be, ready for that"

Before Rachel could decide on a suitable response 'Rocket man' came through the speakers and the pair began singing along at the top of their voices, occasionally grinning at each other. Quinn wished she'd taken the trouble to get to know Rachel earlier then she could have been this happy for longer. Rachel sang along trying drown out the voice in her head chanting 'you need to tell her. you need to tell her now.'

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><p>Quinn felt sad as Rachel parked her car by the kerbside in front of Quinn's house as it signified the end of what had been an enjoyable and fun excursion. Rachel turned the music down to a muted level wondering whether now really was a good time to confess all. She and Quinn smiled awkwardly at each other scanning each others faces. Rachel licked her lips nervously and Quinn felt her heart squeeze and her breathing quicken.<p>

"It's a shame the evening has to end" volunteered Quinn with a slightly husky voice.

"um er yes" Rachel finally managed wondering why having Quinn's eyes focussed on her made speech so difficult. Rachel's gaze shifted to Quinn's lips and the thought of those lips on hers flashed through her mind causing heat to rise in her face. She needed to .. she should be...Quinn leaned forward slightly towards Rachel and was pleased to note Rachel didn't move away and in fact she moved an infinitesimally small amount closer. Quinn's heart was now racing - did she dare? Was Rachel being fixated on her lips an invitation? She summoned up her courage and closed the distance between them but just as she leaned in to place her lips on Rachel's Rachel turned her head to the side resulting in her lips touching Rachel's hair. Quinn was mortified. Face burning she released her seatbelt and scrambled out of the car muttering a " thanks, goodnight" as she went.

She rushed up the path and then fumbled trying to get her keys in the lock, hardly able to see through what she was doing through her tears. How could she have been so stupid? She felt embarrassed, foolish and incredibly frustrated. Of course Rachel didn't want to kiss her, no-one would, she was only slightly likeable, no way was she loveable.

Rachel was hardly faring any better. She closed her eyes and rested her head on her hands on the steering wheel. She took some deep calming breaths before berating herself using all the curse words she could recall. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened to prevent herself running after Quinn and begging Quinn to kiss her. Everything was such a mess; it was morally inappropriate for her to kiss Quinn - she felt her lip tremble and her heart raced at the thought - until she came clean about the immature, childish and frankly demeaning challenge she'd made with Mercedes and Tina and that required four dates before she could nullify it in order for..her thoughts trailed off. A fourth date currently seemed highly unlikely and the chances of Quinn wanting to kiss her - cue hitched breath - were nil after this fiasco. She was in a lose-lose situation and no amount of positive thinking was going to save her. On top of that, Mercedes was going to be proved right. How quickly things had changed for the worst. After a heartfelt sigh she sat up and released her death grip on the steering wheel. She had the short journey home to prepare herself for an everything's fine performance for her Dads while inside she'd be feeling as if her world had fallen apart. She stared at her phone - she couldn't even begin to come up with a suitable text. Right, for now the priority was pulling the wool over her Dads eyes, the reconciliation through text attempt would need to wait. Rachel changed the music to her optimistic mix and headed home unable to bring herself to sing along - she so wasn't 'walking on sunshine'

Quinn let the curtain she'd been holding fall back into place. She'd been straining her eyes to try and figure out why Rachel hadn't driven away. That figure hunched over the steering wheel of her car suggested Rachel wasn't oblivious to what had just happened. Beyond that things were difficult to determine. Rachel had referred to her as a friend and had voluntarily hugged her and held her hand. Maybe friendship would need to be what she settled for rather than interpreting small acts of kindness as the start of some grand romance. She straightened her posture and wiped her eyes. If being Rachel's friend was as good as it would get then so be it. She just needed a suitably blasé text to set their friendship back on track. Besides when it came to not talking about the elephant in the room she was a past master at it. A simple text to gauge the lie of the land should do it. Still not the time for a Uranus joke. Quinn tried to think of a witty reference to the stars without success - she was tired and still smarting from the rejection. A simple statement she told herself before finally settling on

**Had a great time tonight. My favourite stars were your cookies! Let's do it again soon. Q**

She couldn't bring herself to add a kiss or a hug. She pressed the send button to stop herself agonising about it.

Rachel was about to exit her car when her phone pinged with a text. She hesitated unsure she'd be able to handle the disappointment of looking and finding out it wasn't Quinn. Beach boys 'Good vibrations' started to play on her I Pod, maybe it was a sign? Her heart rate began to accelerate as she realised it was a message from Quinn. Heart in mouth she read the text before expelling a shaky breath she hadn't even been aware of holding. Rachel quickly sent a reply

**Thanks for helping transform an enjoyable experience into an unforgettable one. Gratitude cookies to follow. Sleep well. R xo**

Rachel breezed into her house skipped past her Dads and headed to bed trying not to be too disappointed when Quinn didn't text again. All was right with her world and she'd enjoy the here and now rather than looking at the possibly bumpy road ahead. Rachel gave a wry smile - bumpy was definitely an understatement.


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks as ever to all who reviewed and shinigami9x, this chapter is for you! Apologies for any errors but despite today being my birthday I'm older but unfortunately no wiser :(**

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><p>Rachel strode purposefully into school the next morning when really she wanted to slope in and mope about. She'd spent a restless night berating herself for turning her head from Quinn's kiss – it was an attempted kiss wasn't it? - interspersed with berating herself for taking on this challenge with Mercedes. Anyway today was officially designated 'Confess and clear the mess' day as opposed to, she hoped, a 'tell and yell' day. She'd withdraw from her challenge with Mercedes (the easy part) and then she'd...well she hadn't quite sorted out a strategy for breaking the news to Quinn. Small steps and all that. She looked up, how convenient, a <em>looking pleased with herself<em> Mercedes and a _wishing I could disappear_ Tina were waiting at her locker.

"Mercedes, Tina" she acknowledged them with a beaming smile, no hint of her inner turmoil on display. This was the talent that would make her an award-winning star in the future.

"Sooooo" drawled Mercedes," How are things?" She made what she felt was a significant nod towards Quinn who was behind Rachel at her locker. Rachel ignored the inference, not daring to look to see if Quinn was scowling at her, instead she went for a straight forward response.

"lovely, thanks for asking. Couldn't be better. Top of the world really," Rachel bit her tongue to stop herself continuing. Somehow 'you were right Mercedes' just wouldn't make it past her lips although admittedly she wasn't exactly trying too hard. Maybe a withdrawal that didn't have to acknowledge that Mercedes was right was needed?

"So done anything exciting recently such as squared the circle? Trisected the angle?" Mercedes used the memory of a long ago Geometry lesson on impossible tasks to good effect but couldn't remember the one about the cube. She leaned conspiratorially towards Rachel," been on a date with Quinn Fabray?"

The red flush rising up Rachel's cheeks was a better result than she hoped for. Rachel was resolutely staring at her feet. No answer was forth coming. Tina shifted from one foot to the other - trust Rachel to get the reference to some obscure impossible geometrical constructions. Mercedes had had to explain it to her, twice.

"Anyway, girl, I thought you might need a little bit of reading material - saw this and thought of you" Mercedes could hardly contain her smugness as she handed over a book entitled 'Impossible' . Rachel placed the book quickly in her locker with a sigh, gazed once again at the floor for a moment and tried yet again to form an appropriately worded statement of defeat - "I wish to withdraw from our ridiculous and demeaning challenge" sounded a bit too defensive.

"I was going to photoshop a certain ex-Cheerios face on to the cover but I didn't want you to think I was rubbing it in" Mercedes continued with faux concern, her enormous grin contradicting her words.

" No fear of that Mercedes" mumbled Rachel still unable to figure out where to start. Rachel had little experience of backing down from a challenge and admitting defeat. Correction, make that _no _experience. She wasn't sure she could pull off magnanimous in defeat.

"I was actually looking for a book called 'The Art of Losing'" Mercedes was on a roll and enjoying the way her humour was coming to the fore. Rachel was ready to crack she could tell, she could almost taste downcast eyes and slumped posture were a dead giveaway. Mercedes was already doing a celebratory dance internally - she savoured the moment briefly before adding

"So there's a gap in the market - perhaps you should write it?" Mercedes grinned at her witty repartee only slightly disappointed that Tina was such an unenthusiatic audience. Surely Tina wasn't expecting her black outfit to blend in with the grey lockers? So this was how Rachel Berry looked in defeat. Not quite as crushed as Mercedes had hoped for.

" The Art Of Losing by Rachel Berry. Author of the A5 leaflet on 'all the ways positive thinking has worked for me'" crowed Mercedes delighted at her inventiveness - she was sure she just saw Rachel flinch. Mercedes enjoyed a moment of pure triumph and then suddenly Rachel's eyes snapped up to meet hers. _Uh oh_, intoned Mercedes inner voice followed by a slower _uh ohhhh_. Rachel squared her shoulders and straightened her posture as a smile, as far from warm and friendly as it was possible to be, overtook her features. The smile of a shark? _Be afraid, be very afraid_ added Mercedes inner voice now able to move on from monosyllabic words. Mercedes smile quickly faded and she blanched when Rachel leant forward and patted her cheek slowly and with a sympathetic air. _Not good_ howled Mercedes inner voice. Rachel relaxed her grip on her phone - now was not the time to be goaded into a partial reveal. Mercedes deserved the shock of a big reveal preferable with a very large audience - she deliberately pushed any thought of Quinn and how she might feel aside. This was between her and Mercedes and it was very personal.

" What you need to remember, Mercedes, is that an infinite number of monkeys sat at keyboards for an infinite amount of time will eventually type out the complete works of Shakespeare _in the order that they were written_" Rachel explained softly her mouth inches away from Mercedes face. Mercedes looked rather puzzled so Rachel dumbed it down and then dumbed it down again, no longer patting the other girl's cheek, " You didn't put a time restriction on our challenge and, given an infinite amount of time, anything however unlikely will eventually happen" She paused waiting for understanding to seep through Mercedes brain before adding determinedly,"Victory will be mine." Rachel grimaced a bit at her final statement - maybe a touch too egotistical? - she sounded like the villian in a low budget movie and they usually came a cropper. She spun, closing the door on her locker and striding off down the corridor towards her biology class, too busy berating herself about failing at the easy part to acknowledge Quinn at her locker as she passed her. What was it about Mercedes that pressed all her buttons?

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><p>Quinn had come to school determined to throttle back on her interactions with Rachel as a means of protecting her rather battered heart. Her cheeks burned hotly at the mere thought of last night's ill-timed and unwanted lunge in the car. She'd need to work on just being friends so maybe some distance was required. She couldn't however stop herself from noticing Rachel when she was around. Something about Rachel just drew her attention. She hadn't been able to hear the exchange between Mercedes and Rachel but she had been able to see the transformation from a dejected Rachel into a determined Rachel. Determined Rachel got teachers fired and single handedly had won them Sectionals when they were free from the interference of Mr Schue. Determined Rachel was a tiny part scary and a massive part hot. Quinn imagined determined Rachel marching down the corridor, pushing her up against her locker and pressing her lips against Quinn's. Woah, she fought a wave of weakness, this really wasn't helping. She followed after Rachel towards Biology trying not to imagine any more scenarios starring determined Rachel and especially not ones involving a piano. <p>

Rachel hardly noticed the passing of her Biology class as she was busy trying to order her thoughts and feelings. It all seemed to come down to some epic Mercedes versus Quinn scenario. There didn't seem to be a way to best Mercedes and have a relationship with Quinn. So time to do a pro and con list, Mercedes in one column and Quinn in the other. She was ten minutes into her brain storming when she suddenly stopped and glanced over at Quinn. She still could scarcely believe that Goddess Quinn had tried to kiss loser her. She tore up the paper in front of her - it was really a no brainer. A chance of a relationship with Quinn topped and trumped any satisfaction to be gleaned from wiping that irritating smirk off of Mercedes face. So what she really needed to do was withdraw from the challenge and the way to do that was via Tina. Cowardly? Yes, but ultimately Tina wouldn't irritate her into upping the stakes. That was settled then. Next massive problem on the list was what to say to Quinn? Her eyes drifted over to gaze at the beauty concerned, although when Quinn turned to meet her eye Rachel looked away in embarrassment. Her formidable command of the english language was proving no help in finding the right words to say to Quinn. Even her encyclopedic knowledge of songs was failing her. How to even begin...

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><p>Quinn felt her heart sink as Rachel chose to ignore her. She'd been surrepticiously been watching Rachel draw up a list only to rip it up. Perhaps those bits of paper could provide some insight into Rachel's current thought processes? Quinn waited for the class to file out at the end of the lesson before rummaging in the bin for Rachel's discarded bits of paper. She only had time to retrieve one piece before Mrs Harrison was asking her if everything was alright. She glanced at the paper in her hand reading 'Mercedes vs Quinn' as her brain raced to make sense of it. She dropped the piece of paper back into the bin, assured Mrs Harrison she was fine and then dragged herself to the door. Was Rachel really torn between her and Mercedes? Wasn't Mercedes already in a relationship? Although hadn't Mercedes given Rachel a book that morning - was that part of her wooing process? Mercedes was certainly better suited for duets with Rachel than she was and maybe Mercedes had never been quite as cruel to Rachel as she had been but surely she had some advantages over Mercedes? She struggled to come up with anything other than her and Rachel being better matched intellectually, besides she doubted whether Mercedes was in any way competent at photography criticism and at least she was happy to admire Rachel's amazing vocal talents rather than try and steal the spotlight away from her. All thoughts of settling for friendship were hastily pushed aside. Right, game on, she wasn't going to just stand aside while Mercedes stole Rachel from her - her ego would never recover if that selfish pushy diva was chosen over her. Mercedes was ahead of her in the gift giving stakes, she now needed to catch up.<p>

Lunchtime saw Quinn seated between Tina and Kurt trying to guage whether there was really anything going on between Rachel and Mercedes. She was undecided. There seemed to be an antagonistic competitive vibe between the pair that Tina tried to mediate. Beyond that Rachel seemed to spend roughly equal amounts of time looking at her, Mercedes and Tina. Surely Rachel wasn't torn between the three of them - what was the opposite to having discerning taste? Quinn reined her insecurities in, Tina was showing little interest in Rachel and a lot of interest in Mike. It was peace keeping between Mercedes and Rachel that was keeping her busy. Quinn took in a breath to steady herself, time to up her game.

" Rachel I just wanted to say how pulchritudinous you're looking today," she announced as she left the table with her tray hardly daring to look back.

" God Quinn's such a bitch to you" commented Mercedes enjoying the fact that Rachel was still on Quinn's insult list

Rachel just smiled with a hint of a blush on her cheeks. Mercedes decided to make an effort to look up the meaning of pulchrit - punchidit, or whatever the hell it was before quickly dismissing the idea - how could you look up a word you couldn't pronounce never mind spell? If Rachel was embarrassed no doubt Quinn had surpassed herself with her latest insult.

Rachel glowed, Quinn had managed to compliment in full view of the Gleeks with no-one being any the wiser. The fact Mercedes thought Quinn had insulted her only made the moment sweeter.

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><p>The next opportunity that Quinn had to observe the Rachel - Mercedes dynamic was at that afternoon's Glee club meeting so she arrived early and sat near the back to give herself a good view of the pair. As soon as Mr Schue arrived Mercedes was out of her seat.<p>

"Mr Schue I have something I'd like to sing. Rachel inspired me" Mercedes smarmed before Mr Schue even had time to complete his greeting to the class.

Rachel folded her arms across her chest and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was only a matter of time and quite frankly she was surprised it had taken Mercedes so long before attempting to goad her vocally.

The jazz band began playing as Mercedes launched into a slightly up tempo rendition of 'it's impossible' her performance marred only by her need to keep waving her hand with four fingers wriggling in the direction of Rachel every time she sang 'it's impossible'. Mercedes was a bit surprised that, rather than looking annoyed, Rachel seemed to be smirking at her - looking like a cat who'd got the cream. She wiggled her four fingers in Rachel's direction one last time and tried not to be disappointed at the lack of reaction. Maybe she was losing her ability to get under Rachel's skin? The rest of the Glee club showed their appreciation with noisy applause at the end of her performance and, with a slightly less triumphant grin than she intended, Mercedes returned to her seat. She hardly had time to sit down before Rachel was on her feet claiming the performance space and saying

"Mr Schue if I may?"

Mr Schue gave a resigned shrug. He wasn't sure what was going on between Rachel and Mercedes although Tina sitting with her hands covering her face did concern him slightly. Rachel produced sheet music for the band before addressing the group.

"This is a little known song which I think you'll find inspirational" and with that she launched into 'Nothing's Impossible', a song she'd found by extensive searches on the Internet. She had thought about doing 'Pick Yourself Up' as a riposte when she'd anticipate this move by Mercedes but realised there was nothing to pick herself up from - well nothing Mercedes related anyway. If anything she was fighting to keep her feet on the ground. She'd rejected anything that hinted at having secrets as too transparent for someone as sharp as Quinn not to be suspicious. She could see the puzzled looks Quinn was directing her way interspersed with glances at Mercedes. She sobered instantly; there was more at stake than just getting one over Mercedes. She didn't dare risk winking at Quinn, maybe singing wasn't her wisest choice but she now needed to see it through. On her last 'nothing's Impossible' she dared to venture a smile at Quinn. It went unnoticed as Quinn was busy glowering at Mercedes - Rachel was unsure what to make of that. Applause greeted the end of Rachel's rendition and she judged the volume to be at least equal to, if not more than, that which Mercedes had received so she skipped happily to her seat.

"So either of you care to enlighten us about the impossible theme?" asked Mr Schue curiously. Those songs seemed to sum up the two girls attitudes perfectly, Mercedes almost ready to give in before she started and Rachel not knowing when she was beaten. Mercedes and Rachel shared a look and he noted that Rachel looked slightly uncomfortable – a first surely?

"No" they both chorused as Tina muttered " Definitely No" louder than she realised. Quinn noted that Tina was in on whatever was going on and decided that if she chose to pursue whatever this weird vibe between Mercedes and Rachel was, then Tina was where she'd start. For the moment she settled for sending Rachel a text despite being in the same room.

**So what is all this impossible stuff about? Q **

She was intrigued to watch the blush that instantly appeared on Rachel's face when she read the text and the way she squirmed uncomfortably in her chair. This was definitely something she needed to pursue. Time for a conversation, one-on-one, with Tina. Were Rachel and Mercedes flirting with each other by song? Was this friendly banter about whether a relationship between them was feasible? Quinn tried to fight back the jealousy threatening to consume her.

**Nothing worth the effort of explaining ; ) R x **Rachel texted back, not realising how much her body language had contradicted her words. Rachel felt a feeling of impending doom or was it just guilt ? She squared her shoulders and applied a broad smile to her lips. She noticed Quinn observing Tina with a curious look on her face. 'Highway to Hell' began to play in her head. She needed to corner Tina immediately after practice and pass on her acceptance of defeat in the face of the 'nigh impossible' challenge she'd been set. Her plan after that was still sketchy but involved either her going to Quinn's or Quinn being persuaded to come to hers. Was home advantage a good idea? Quinn could hardly storm out indignantly if they were at Quinn's - although she probably had the upper body strength to physically throw Rachel out. Would it be rude if she were to insist they met in a ground floor room?

Quinn was faster off the mark than Rachel when Glee club ended. She had ushered Tina into an empty classroom with a "I think we need to talk" and a less than friendly smile before Rachel had even left the choir room. Rachel glanced both ways along the corridor to find Tina had disappeared. She felt a mix of relief and disappointment - her admission of defeat would have to wait until tomorrow.

Tina felt she had no choice but to follow the formidable ex-Cheerio Captain into the darkened classroom. Tina quickly ran through her recent actions - surely there was nothing Quinn could possibly take exception to? Her heart sank though as after Quinn gestured to her to take a seat and her opening question was

" So, tell me, what's all this impossible stuff between Rachel and Mercedes about?"

Tina swallowed nervously and looked at Quinn in panic. Why me? she wondered as Quinn loomed over her in intimidating fashion.

" Come on Tina we're all friends here" Quinn whispered softly

" W..w..w..well," Tina stuttered as her heart rate raced and fear coursed through her system. Quinn leaned back - this was probably going to take longer than she first thought.


	12. Chapter 12

**Cheers to all reviewers. Apologies for any irritating errors... **

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><p>Quinn had left almost at a sprint, intent on going round to Rachel's house immediately. Tina had sat quietly taking deep breaths to calm herself for a while after Quinn had left. She looked anxiously at her phone - it was nearly completely drained of power. Should she ring Rachel and warn her that a frantic Quinn was on her way round even as they spoke? She sighed, not really understanding how she'd been dragged into the middle of all of this, and dialled Rachel's number.<p>

"Hi Tina" Rachel's bubbly voice answered the phone,"I was hoping to talk to you today perhaps we..."

" Listen Rachel" Tina hastily interrupted not knowing how long her phone would hold out or how quickly Quinn would make the journey to the Berry residence," It's about Quinn. She's fine" Tina spoke loudly over Rachel's excited squeaking," It's just..well she" and at that point Tina's phone succumbed to a lack of power. She sighed, she could feel a tension headache coming on. She was going to go home, have a relaxing bath and (and this was the important part) not charge up her phone. She'd put her head so far in the sand that any self respecting ostrich would be insanely jealous of her head in the sand ability. Decision made, she immediately began to feel walked towards her car, tomorrow was going to be ...painful seemed to be the only word to cover it.

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><p>Quinn pulled up outside Rachel's house and took a steadying breath. She really should have phoned ahead - what was the point of modern technology if you didn't use it? She pulled her phone out of her pocket and rang Rachel's number, frustrated to be greeted by an engaged tone. She tried again unaware that less than fifty yards away Rachel was frantically re-dialling Tina's number to try and find out about what was going on with Quinn, all her calls going directly to answer phone. Rachel was fighting a rising wave of panic - had Quinn cornered Tina and if so what had Tina said? They would hardly be discussing possible musical collaborations, the only thing for them to discuss surely was the 'nigh impossible' challenge - Quinn had even asked her by text what it was about. She hoped that wasn't going to be a missed opportunity that she'd live to regret. It was hard to imagine Tina withstanding a Quinn interrogation. Rachel blinked back tears - she needed to not jump the gun. She took a deep breath and her finger hovered briefly over Mercedes number before common sense prevailed. Perhaps Tina was rushing round to her house at this very moment - Rachel couldn't quite place Quinn's location in this scenario possibly buying up all the slushy available in Lima? She released her breath slowly - patience had never been one of her virtues but she really needed to try and exercise it now. Quinn was going to kill her.<p>

Quinn scowled at her phone before deciding to bite the bullet and knock on Rachel's front door. Why phone when she could knock - where was her head at? She walked quickly up the path and rang the bell as her heart rate soared with a mix of anticipation and fear. She hadn't really thought her actions through but Tina had surprised her with her tight lipped "ask Rachel" mantra - in fact the only other reaction she'd got out of Tina was wide eyed shock when she'd asked whether Mercedes and Rachel were romantically involved. Cue momentary relief followed by bewilderment. Something was afoot between Rachel and Mercedes but whatever it was it wasn't romance or if it was Tina was out of the loop, which seemed unlikely… Quinn was determined to know what it was but far more crucially whether there was the slightest hope for a relationship between her and Rachel. She'd decided life was too short to be left in the state of not knowing. She'd had enough disappointments and rejections in her life for another one not to make much difference - okay not completely true, but in the long run the disappointment and unrequited longing would hardly prove fatal. Just extremely painful.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door in front of her opening and a tall black man met her eye with a questionning look. Despite knowing Rachel had a black father, partly through her own father's long expositions on the evils of mixed race relationships never mind the abomination of same gender ones, she still found herself surprised.

" Yes?" the man in front of her asked with a neutral expression on his face. She finally managed to spit out a sentence.

" I was wondering" she paused to clear her throat and hopefully eradicate the uncharacteristic squeakiness it had gained," I'm here to see Rachel" she rephrased and threw a smile in with her words. The man half smiled back.

"And who are you?". He inquired his eyes sweeping over her. Leroy recognised the face but couldn't place from where. The girl in front of him was beautiful but he wasn't as susceptible as others to an attractive face.

" I'm Quinn Fabray" she replied watching fascinated as the man's features quickly transformed from curiosity to.. she paused.. was that anger?

"Russell Fabray's daughter? Same year at Rachel's school?" he asked, she nodded with a smile aware he wasn't smiling back.

" The Fabrays doing outreach homophobia these days?" his tone was politely curious. She understood every individual word but not the sentence they formed. She made a conscious decision not to let her mouth gape open. Leroy couldn't believe the nerve of the girl, how dare she turn up on his doorstep looking as if butter wouldn't melt. He struggled to rein in his temper.

"Come to denounce us in the comfort of our own home?" the man continued, his disdain for her dripping from his every word. Again Quinn struggled to comprehend his meaning, she'd been expecting a "Rachel's upstairs, go right ahead."

"Aren't there enough hours in the school day for you to insult and demean my daughter? Is a home visit really necessary? Shouldn't you be concerned at crossing the threshold of such a 'vipers nest of evil'?" She recognised the latter part of the sentence as one of her fathers often used phrases. The annoyed man in front of her continued aiming a disapproving glare at her. Quinn was fighting to formulate an appropriate response to the tide of outraged anger she was being faced with.

" I'm not sure you can top your father's stirling work of getting a three year old banned from the church run nursery because of the sinful against God relationship of her parents but I'm sure that won't deter you from trying" Quinn felt embarrassment and shame, she hadn't realised the amount of influence her father wielded. Or rather, had once wielded before his own rather spectacular fall from grace. Mr Berry was obviously well versed in both her and her father's actions.

" half the trades folk of this town daren't cross our doorstep thanks to those well reasoned arguments your dad spews forth in the local paper and I presume at church." The man glowered at her and Quinn fought to resist the urge to back away. Would something about not being her fathers keeper be appropriate?

" I er it's " she couldn't decide where to begin. She certainly didn't feel the need to defend her father and his bigotry or was that hypocrisy - bigoted hypocrisy? hypocritical bigotry? Where did she begin in apologising for her own misguided and needlessly cruel behaviour ?

" Come along Miss Fabray, this is the point in the conversation where you start reeling off bible quotations justifying your narrow minded hateful world view and reinforcing your own misplaced sense of moral superiority. Surely there's something apt from Leviticus you'd like to mention?" He taunted. Leroy could never fathom why fundamentalists put such store in the word of God passed on by chinese whispers and filtered through the prejudices of the person writing and then the slant of the reader. Sounded like a wholely unreliable guide on how to live your life.

"I'm not really up on biblical references" Quinn muttered finally being able to respond but hardly daring to meet the angry man's eyes. Some New Testament 'love thy neighbour' quotes seemed wildly inappropriate at this juncture.

" Oh I very much doubt that. You seem to have the same way with words as your father. Manhands, Rupaul, Treasure Trail, ring any bells?" Leroy sneered.

Quinn's cheeks burned - there was no denying her responsibility on that front.

" Have you not managed to bring a drink with you to throw over Rachel to remind her of her lowly status thanks to her, oh how does your Christian father put it, two faggot dads?" Leroy seemed unable to stop himself venting.

He'd often imagined precisely what he'd say to Russell Fabray if he ever had the misfortune to meet him - Quinn Fabray was as good a stand in as you could get.

Quinn was digesting this as Rachel's voice from within the house rang out.

"Who's at the door Dad? I hope you're not falling for some salesman's cheesy patter." the voice approached quickly and finally Rachel joined them on the doorstep" We certainly don't need any more..." Rachel's voice tailed off as she spotted Quinn. A wave of mixed, but indecipherable to Quinn, emotions crossed her face as she looked between her irate father and her shame faced friend. Rachel managed a strangled

"Quinn?" that one word wasn't enough for Quinn to decipher the emotion behind it. Fear? Dismay? The lack of accompanying smile clued her into it not being joy. Rachel's eyes darted between the pair in front of her, her father bristling with anger and an uncomfortable and guilty looking Quinn - her imagined worst case scenario was coming to fruition. Her Dad broke the brief silence.

"Quinn Fabray" Quinn had never heard her name uttered with such contempt, she noticed Rachel's wince," seems to be under the mistaken impression that her presence would in some way be welcomed here. As if the years of sustained abuse and hatred led by her father and then perpetuated by herself at your school are somehow unimportant"

Rachel open and closed her mouth, unable to think of where to start. Her Dad was positively vibrating with rage and all of it currently focussed on Quinn. She needed to distract him. Her carefully prepared arguments were no use as the setting she'd pictured was a civilised and calm discussion over dinner and crucially without Quinn's seemingly provocative presence. She needed her Dad to calm down in order to allow Quinn to have a go at her - oh what fun.

"Quinn's my friend" she managed to say, not one of her better arguments admittedly and probably factually inaccurate from the moment Tina had blabbed. Her father snorted his derision.

" Really?" he said incredulously "Friend eh?"

Rachel make a conscious effort not to tremble under the intensity of her Dad's glare. "The kind of friend who invites you for sleepovers eh?" He inquired. The sleepover that never was, that ended in a stream of texted insults, loomed large in his memory. Rachel broke eye contact to look at the floor - she couldn't imagine Quinn inviting her into the Fabray mansion for tea never mind a sleep over. She didn't even want to think about the faux invitation years ago that had briefly caused her so much joy before all her hopes had been dashed yet again. Quinn cringed with shame at the sleepover reference - the fact it was Santana's idea hardly seemed relevant.

"or who walks down the school corridors or around the town arm in arm with you" Leroy continued

Rachel's lack of response spoke volumes - she knew Quinn was reluctant to be seen with her outside of school and could barely bring herself to talk to her inside school when there were witnesses. Quinn looked uncomfortable.

"Or who stands up to people trying to bully you?" he paused eyeing his obviously uncomfortable daughter," and doesn't bully you herself" the red flush on Quinn's face was a giveaway, so that was a no then. He quietly added

" Let me guess Rachel, did she compliment you on your singing?" A tell tale blush rose up Rachel's cheeks. Yes Quinn had been quite taken with her singing but it was more than just that, wasn't it?

" Oh sweetheart, one compliment doesn't mean you need to roll over like an over eager puppy and offer up your tummy for tickling." Leroy sighed wishing Rachel was less intent on seeing the good in everyone.

"That's unfair" Rachel managed to say fighting a need to burst into tears. Her Dad's poor opinion of her ability to judge others made her want to weep.

"You think I don't know how difficult she has made your school life for you? Your Daddy and I have heard you crying in your room after yet another petty spiteful act instigated by her and her ilk, don't let a few kind words fool you. Based on past experience she's just setting you up for further humiliation" Leroy stated.

Rachel blushed, her Dad made it sound as if she sobbed herself to sleep every night whereas in fact the occurence was a rarity. Quinn felt tears slide down her face - she wanted to envelop Rachel in a hug whilst simultaneously throwing herself at Rachel's feet begging for forgiveness that her miserable self really didn't deserve. Her blurred vision still allowed her to see Rachel straightening her shoulders and pulling herself up to her full height.

"I'm not suffering from some variation of Stockholm Syndrome thank you very much and I resent your implication that I'm incapable of making sensible judgements. I'm old enough to decide who my friends are" she asserted, pleased her voice didn't betray the full extent of her upset. He was touching on her insecurities around her friendship with Quinn and she didn't like the doubt beginning to form in her mind about Quinn's motives.

"What like Jessie st. Self-obsessed or Finn the Dim, or your Glee friends - only friendly when they want something from you? Rachel, I'm meant to protect you even if it's from your own poor choices" Her Dad asserted firmly hoping he didn't sound too patronising.

Quinn watched Rachel bristle at this before she eyed her father carefully and then said clearly

"Quinn and I are friends, we spend time enjoying each others company outside of school"

"Outside of school?" Leroy instantly queried,"You've been spending your free time with that Fabray creature without your Daddy or me being aware of it ?"

Rachel nodded, glaring at her Dad. Quinn bit her lip wondering whether she should sidle away. Watching Rachel's Dad lay into Rachel was an extremely unpleasant experience, particularly as she didn't know how to make it stop.

"She's encouraged you to lie to us?" Leroy asked in disbelief, sparing a moment to scowl at Quinn. Rachel lying was an almost unheard of event or so he had thought.

"My own choice Dad, nothing to do with Quinn and looking at how you're reacting now it was a justified decision" Rachel spoke quietly trying to take the heat out of their exchange. Her Dad seemed fixated on Quinn as an evil influence and her as a vulnerable pathetic easily led child.

"I reiterate it's my duty to protect you - even if it's from your own poor decisions. Quinn Fabray is not your friend" he enunciated clearly, trying to mask his exasperation at Rachel not being able to accept the obvious, before disasterously adding," Not while you're under my roof"

Rachel stepped into her Dads space and glared at him "You're saying I can't choose my own friends" her voice reflecting her disbelief

He leaned forward so they were face to face

"Not if you think Quinn Fabray is your friend," he said angrily.

" I'm perfectly capable of making my own choices and deciding on my own friends" Rachel's voice was begining to rise.

"It's patently obvious you are not. I forbid you to be friends with her" he sneered the final word, gesturing a hand angrily in Quinn's direction.

"Forbid?" Rachel's voice rose in outrage, her fathers might disprove of her choices but them trying to control who her friends were was...well some abuse of her Human Rights surely?

"My house, my rules" he asserted falling back on the often-repeated mantra of his own father.

"And if I disobey, do you intend to beat me? You're beginning to sound like Russell Fabray yourself" Rachel spat back.

Rachel had never stood up to him like this before, he hardly recognised the girl currently yelling at him. Rather than giving himself time to cool down, Leroy upped the stakes

"if you don't like it, don't live here" he stated, knowing she'd have to back down. They glowered at each other before Rachel appeared to come to a decision and stepped back from her Dad. She finally turned to acknowledge Quinn.

"So Quinn is there something I can do for you?" Rachel's calm voice contradicted her heaving chest. Quinn wished she hadn't been there to witness the row between Rachel and her Dad and regretted she'd been the cause of it. She could hardly bring herself to look at Rachel now that she was aware of the impact of her own disgraceful spiteful behaviour. Rachel noted Quinn's inability to meet her eye and the cryptic call from Tina sprung back to mind. Had Tina really blabbed?

"I've been talking to Tina and she said" was as far as Quinn's disordered ramblings got before Rachel's face crumpled, she burst into tears and rushed into the house leaving Leroy and Quinn to exchange puzzled looks. Rachel headed for the kitchen and her car keys. Her Dad had told her to move out and now Quinn knew all about the challenge and was here for her pound of flesh too. She slapped her phone on the counter top - there was no-one she wanted to hear from or talk to now. She needed to get away - there was no point staying to listen to how right her Dad was or giving Quinn an opportunity to vent. She stepped out of the back door and wiped her eyes. She needed to get away right now destination uncertain.

Quinn stepped up to follow Rachel into the house but was stopped by Leroy reaching out his arm while he tried to figure out why Rachel was suddenly in tears. He glared at Quinn and she glared right back, putting her hands on her hips to underline how unintimidated she was.

"Yes I know my father's a prick and I've probably inherited some of his traits but Rachel is upset" she said firmly.

They continued to glare at each other until reluctantly Leroy dropped his arm to allow Quinn to enter the house after him. She followed him to the foot of the stairs

"She'll be in her room, that's where she goes when she's upset. It's the second door..." Leroy's explanation was cut off by the sound of a car starting at the front of the house, they exchanged worried glances as they rushed out to the front of the house again just in time to see Rachel's car pull somewhat unsteadily away from the kerb.

Quinn pulled out her phone and hastily rang Rachel's phone. From the kitchen of the house came the distance sound of 'Once I had a secret love' ringtone. She cut off the call as the answer phone picked up. Leroy replicated her actions his phone pressed to his ear as he walked back into the house followed by Quinn. This time 'Papa don't preach' rang out from the kitchen - Quinn smiled weakly at Rachel's need to soundtrack her life although why she reminded Rachel of Doris Day she just couldn't fathom. Rachel's phone lay abandoned on the kitchen counter, its screen dimmed as Leroy ended the call. Rachel never went anywhere without her phone - correction, had never until now gone anywhere without her phone.

Leroy slumped into one of the kitchen chairs grasping Rachel's phone in his hands and shaking his head

"She's never" he paused," I mean, we've never" he turned to look at Quinn," Where would she go?" he pleaded.'If you don't like it, don't live here' replayed in his head - surely Rachel didn't think...

" Where ever it is I don't think she wants to be found at the moment" Quinn volunteered giving Leroy's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. She didn't really know what else to say, there was no obvious place she knew of that Rachel would head to.

"Why don't you ring Rachel's other dad and I'll make us both a coffee" she suggested," Then if necessary we can decide on a plan of action" she paused, perhaps inviting herself into the middle of a family drama that she had in fact caused wasn't one of her best ideas?

Leroy raised his eyes to look at her ,"Good plan." He pulled his phone out of his pocket and stood up," We" he indicated the pair of them, "obviously need to talk"

Quinn couldn't decide whether that was a good or a bad thing as she began to navigate her way round the kitchen to make coffee.

" Ah Hiram honey" said Leroy as he strode out of the kitchen,"It's about Rachel.."


	13. Chapter 13

**As ever, thanks to all those taking the time to review. Cheers to shinigami for helping to improve the reading experience ;)**

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><p>Rachel wiped her eyes again; she seemed unable to stop crying despite her best efforts. So her Dad wanted to control her life, and Quinn thought her interest in her was driven solely by a need to beat Mercedes - didn't mean she needed to drown herself with her own tears. Rachel took a fortifying deep breath. Her Dad didn't want her to be friends with Quinn, and Quinn didn't want to be her friend; so where was the problem? Another quick burst of weeping overcame her. She was being pathetic. Just because she was positively aching for Quinn to kiss her - dying from frustration even? - it wasn't a reason for the floodgates on her tear ducts to open. Just because they'd had such a fun evening at the photo exhibition, or that Quinn had been so captivated by her singing after organising for them to go to a concert, or that they'd held hands under a gloriously starry sky didn't mean there was any hope of being involved in a romantic relationship. Maybe Quinn had wanted to sniff her hair and she was reading a failed kiss into it in her, let's be honest, overly dramatic manner? Perhaps her Dad was right: maybe Quinn was setting her up for yet another humiliation, this time on a slightly grander scale? She felt outraged momentarily, before realising that this was probably what Quinn had felt on finding out about her bet with Mercedes because, semantics aside about bet versus challenge, that was what it boiled down to. A thoughtless bet that took no account of Quinn's feelings. She felt the tears on her cheeks.<p>

Enough.

There were plenty of other fish in the sea; maybe none as beautiful, or such a mix of vulnerable and prickly as Quinn, or as thoughtful, or with that sexy husky voice, or such perfect cheekbones, or such a sharp intellect... This wasn't helping. What was she going to do now? She couldn't drop in on Tina as she might kill her, even though it would just be a displacement activity. She needed some _pull yourself together, you miserable wretch_ time before returning bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to take whatever firm talking to her Dads cared to dish out. She needed to be on top of her game before braving school ready for a Mercedes dig or two, and, more importantly, prepared for the full wrath of Quinn to be unleashed on her.

Going home at the present moment was not an option. She quickly ran through and ruled out the rest of the Glee club members as possible sanctuaries. She needed to go somewhere she could safely be upset, and then have the time and space to bounce back. If anyone else were to be present, they'd need to be sympathetic, supportive and non-judgemental. She laughed bitterly; she couldn't think of anyone who could fit that bill unless you included... She smiled, this time with relief. Uncle John's it was then.

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><p>Quinn could hear the muffled tones of Leroy's phone conversation from the living room as she made two coffees. She took a deep breath and stepped into the living room as he finished his call. Placing the coffees on the coffee table, she sat on one end of the sofa and idly wondered whether this coffee table was the one that a younger Rachel had tapped danced on, wearing a blond curly wig. The thought made her smile, but perhaps now wasn't the time to ask. Leroy sat the other end of the sofa from her, picked up a coffee and sighed.<p>

"I'm sorry if I offended you with anything I said about your Dad," he finally volunteered - grudgingly, she felt.

"No offence taken. My father deserves worse. You won't hear me defending a man who made me homeless on discovering I was pregnant. The fact he was having an extra marital affair at the time only makes it all somehow worse – hypocrite seems a bit tame to describe him." Quinn put a hand over her mouth to stop her stream of words. She might not often have the opportunity to rant about her father, but this certainly wasn't the time.

"I'm sorry too if I said anything that insulted you," Leroy added, unable to differentiate between what he'd actually said and what he'd wanted to say.

"Again, no offence taken. I haven't always..." Quinn struggled to form an adequate sentence. How did you admit to being spiteful and petty for no good reason? She changed tack, "I've only recently began to fully appreciate how truly amazing Rachel is. I mean we all know what an incredibly talented singer she is, but..." Quinn again struggled to express her emotions in words. "She's so much more than that," she finished lamely, knowing she was echoing words Rachel had said to her. She wasn't sure the 'caring, cuddly and cute' that had first sprung to mind would be appreciated by Rachel's Dad. She was aware of him staring intently at her.

"Beautiful inside and out," Quinn babbled before blushing. She'd said that aloud? Where was her brain? Leroy's eyes narrowed as he tried to gauge her sincerity. In his experience Fabrays were a manipulative lot.

"So why did Rachel burst into tears when you said you'd spoken to Tina?" he asked, running through the recent events again in his mind, trying to assess whether he was responsible for all his daughter's distress or just a major part of it.

Quinn shrugged puzzled and unsure what to say. What on earth did Rachel think Tina had said that had resulted in her running away from Quinn in tears? It made no sense.

"Perhaps I need to speak to Tina," she muttered, pulling out her phone. The call went straight to answerphone. She didn't have Tina's home number or her address.

"Does Rachel have another number for Tina?" she asked, indicating the phone he was clutching as if it was the only remaining link to his daughter.

"She's locked it," Leroy responded as he passed her the phone

"Do you mind if I try?" she asked, indicating the phone. He nodded his approval. Barbra's birth year and she was in (and there she was thinking she might need to use Oscar winning years). She scrolled through contacts – no home numbers. She didn't want to involve the other Glee kids yet. Nothing in messages to suggest where Rachel might have gone. There seemed to be quite a few photos of Quinn, some of which she couldn't place.

Hiram greeted her with as little enthusiasm, but far more politeness, than Rachel's other Dad had managed. As Leroy was distracted by the arrival home of Hiram, she finally got to start to play, on mute, the video named after her on Rachel's phone. She sent it to herself to view later, and then deleted any trace of doing so. She felt incredibly guilty, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and she desperately needed some insight into what Rachel thought of her. She tried not to assign too much meaning to Rachel having a video of exclusively her on her phone, but she noted happily there were no videos dedicated to anyone else in Glee. She was particularly gratified to find no videos or individual photos of Mercedes. Hah.

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><p>Rachel spent a moment gathering her wits together before pushing open the door to Uncle John's art gallery and entering, head held high. She hadn't been able to do much about her red-rimmed eyes, but she had managed to stop her tears. They saw each other at the same time, and she stood frozen still as John hurried towards her.<p>

"Rachel, sweetheart are you okay?" Daft question, he berated himself, as he enveloped her in a big hug. He felt her sigh against his shoulder.

"I've had a massive bust up with my Dad," she finally mumbled.

"Okay," he responded. It seemed a safe response. He wasn't sure about wanting to take sides in any conflict.

"I don't want to talk about it," Rachel said clearly, as if his answer had been an invitation to explain.

"Okay," John soothed, feeling a bit guilty at his relief that he wouldn't need to adjudicate. Rachel continued to hug him.

"I've done something incredibly stupid," she added, and began sobbing into his shoulder. He stroked her hair gently.

"Okay," he said neutrally. His mind quickly raced through actions that teenage girls might consider incredibly stupid, and he wished it hadn't.

"I don't want to talk about it either," she finally added once she'd regained control of her tears.

"Okay." The answer had served him well so far. He fought hard to hide his palpable relief. He doubted this would be the end of the topic, but he was happy to leave Rachel to talk in her own time. She pulled away slightly, catching his gaze with her tear filled eyes and using her hand to mop up errant tears from her cheeks.

"Could I possibly stay overnight at yours? I'm sorry to be so presumptuous," her voice quivered with uncertainty. How could anyone refuse that look?

"Of course you can, sweetie. You're always welcome," John replied as Rachel hugged him tightly again before releasing him.

"Thanks. I didn't know where else to go," Rachel's sorrowful face tugged at his heartstrings.

"What about Quinn's?" he asked before thinking, his comment being marked by a choked sob and fresh tears. He wished he'd stuck with 'okay'.

"Look, honey, a nice long relaxing bath, a sumptuous meal cooked by yours truly followed be a decent night's sleep, and everything will seem better in the morning," he reassured her. Rachel made an effort to stem the flow of her tears.

"Sumptuous meal sounds good," she choked out. A bath might give her too long to dwell on just how majorly she had messed up. She dabbed her eyes again – surely there was a limit to the volume of tears her eyes could produce?

"Right, where's your car? Let me have your keys and one of my many assistants can drive it round to my house." John held his hands up to deter her protests, "You're in no state to be driving, so you're with me." He issued the necessary instructions and soon they were in his car, heading towards his house each silently wrapped up in their own thoughts.

"Do your Dads' know where you are?" He asked as he parked his car in his garage.

"Not at the moment." Rachel's lip trembled. "Could you," she looked pleadingly at her Uncle, "um, let them know I'm staying with you? I don't want to talk to them at the moment." Rachel paused before clarifying, "I don't want to talk to anybody."

John decided he'd make the call once Rachel was settled, so after setting her up in the bathroom with numerous scented oils, candles, thick soft towels and a glass of iced water 'to try and rehydrate you after all that crying' he left her to relax while he made the phone call. It was answered after one ring.

"Hi, Hiram, it's John. Rachel's going to be staying the night with me. She won't talk about what's going on, but I'm hoping a good night's sleep might help put it all in perspective," was his opening line on recognising Hiram's worried tone. Tangible relief was transmitted down the phone line, and he could sense the struggle Hiram was having not to cross-examine him. He had to be quite assertive to prevent the Berry men from jumping in their car to drive over to his house, and he could tell they were unimpressed with his 'play it by ear' approach to the next day. It was John's skilful use of 'what's best for Rachel' that won the day. Minutes later, he was at the bathroom door calling through to Rachel that her Dads wanted her to know they loved her and that Leroy was sorry. There was a lengthy pause before a quiet "okay" was forthcoming.

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><p>Quinn paced back and forth in her bedroom, tapping John's card against her fingers. To call or not to call? She'd spent an awkward part of the evening at Rachel's while Rachel's Dads had tried to make sense of the earlier events. They were polite, but distant; she could tell they didn't really trust or like her. Quite frankly the feeling was mutual - she didn't even want to think about the doorstep exchanges for the moment, there was time to consider yet more rejections and harsh judgements later. She couldn't help feeling that some measure of blame was being directed her way and the phone call informing Rachel's Dads' of her whereabouts didn't seem to lessen that. Most frustrating of all, she didn't know why what she'd said had been Rachel's final straw. Tina was still infuriatingly incommunicado and Quinn was uncertain whether a home visit, if she could find out where Tina lived without raising the other Gleeks suspicions, would help. Maybe Rachel wouldn't want her personal business broadcast around, so could Quinn force Tina to tell her what was going on without hinting at Rachel's meltdown? Probably not, she'd already failed dismally to persuade Tina to talk. All she'd gained from that earlier interrogation was that there was definitely something to talk about involving Rachel, Mercedes and Tina and, judging from Tina's shifty behaviour, she suspected it involved her too; she just couldn't figure out what on earth it was. She dialled John's number, then cancelled the call, paced a bit more, dialled again and cancelled again. Quinn took a deep breath, redialled and then cut the call off again. She wished she could hold her nerve. Finally, she settled on sending a text and, after several aborted attempts at writing a message, she finally settled on:<p>

**Hi John. I'm Rachel's friend Quinn. Is she okay? Could I call you? Quinn**

She resumed her pacing around the room.

* * *

><p>John was okay with his homemade vegetable soup and bread being barely touched and all desserts being declined, but he realised the seriousness of the situation when Rachel shrugged her shoulders on being asked whether she wanted to watch Funny Girl. He examined Rachel carefully as he sipped his coffee.<p>

"So?" he invited.

"I don't want to talk about it," muttered Rachel, fiercely wiping her eyes and then, plastering a big smile on her face, looked at him and said," I'm fine, really I am." It would have been convincing if her voice hadn't wobbled on the final word. He moved next to her on the sofa and pulled her in for a hug.

"I think you need to talk about it even if you don't want to," he suggested as she sniffled. He waited, but Rachel didn't say anything.

"So this incredibly stupid thing you've done..." He felt her tense up. "Something illegal?" he asked, hearing a muffled "no" in response. "Turned down a part on Broadway?" A sighed "fat chance". "Got yourself pregnant?" The indignant "no" reassured him as she pulled away from his hug to glare at him. "Bought a god-awful expensive photo from a highly reputable art gallery run by a suave and dashing..."

"Not to mention modest," interrupted Rachel with a faint grin.

"Young," he added and this time Rachel laughed, "man?" he finished.

"No." She smiled at him before her face fell, "You'll probably think it's silly."

"If it's making you this upset, I don't think it's silly," John reassured, suddenly worried he was in fact turning into his agony aunt of a mother.

"I think it's silly," asserted Rachel as her tears started again. "I can't believe I'm being so pathetic over the loss of what might have been."

"Stop with the self-criticism, Rachel, and just talk to me," he said softly, passing over more tissues.

Rachel considered carefully what to say; obviously some Fabray background was required to put her Dad's outburst into context, but she didn't want to turn Uncle John against Quinn by relating too many school incidents. Then she needed to explain the er... _Mercedes challenge-dare-bet thingy,_ and then conclude with an account of the doorstep drama. She sighed. Uncle John's opinion of her was about to plummet, but he was about the only person she could talk to who didn't have a particular axe to grind.

"Okay. Well, Quinn's surname is Fabray, and I don't know if you're aware of it or not, but the Fabrays - Quinn's father in particular - have gone out of their way to make life in Lima for dads and me difficult.." she began.

John was trying to process all the detail in Rachel's story while she made the pair of them vegan hot chocolate. He vaguely remembered laughing with Rachel's Dads about the homophobia encountered in small towns with their narrow-minded populations. He was more concerned about how High School had been for Rachel, and he was struggling not to judge Quinn too harshly. Rachel's dreamy description of her 'dates' with the girl concerned only slightly lessened how annoyed he was with Quinn. He thought she was placing too much emphasis on the bet she'd undertaken, when in fact her treatment at the hands of Quinn had been far worse; it didn't condone the somewhat silly bet though. John's phone tone indicated a new text, which he quickly read - it was from Quinn. He glanced at the kitchen door. Now would not be the time to talk to Quinn, not while he was feeling so protective of Rachel. He hurriedly typed a reply

**Hi Quinn. Rachel's calmer but still sad. Not a good time to talk, maybe tomorrow. John**

Now he needed to focus on persuading Rachel to disembark from the guilt train she was on, and for her to focus on moving forward. His phone pinged.

**Thanks. Ring me when it's a good time, doesn't matter when please. If I did something wrong tell Rachel I'm sorry. Really sorry**.

He was torn between being touched by the text and annoyed at the 'if I did something wrong'. Alienating Rachel from the rest of the student body through name-calling and slushy attacks just might be something worth apologising for. Deep breath. If Rachel had forgiven Quinn maybe he should let it go? The Quinn he'd met seemed far removed from the school Quinn Rachel had described. What's best for Rachel?

Rachel appeared with two mugs and a big grin.

"Ready to pronounce judgement, oh wise one?" she asked, passing him a mug.

He smiled back. Should he tell her about Quinn's texts?

"Rather than apportioning blame, let's try a different approach. Rachel, in an ideal world, what do you want to happen? I know about the Broadway aspirations." He softened his comment with a smile. There was a long delay as Rachel considered carefully what she wanted.

"I want..." Rachel blushed; how should she phrase it? "To be romantically involved with Quinn, although that's..."

"Focus, Rachel. Ideal-world scenario," he admonished.

"To be romantically involved with Quinn." She sighed heavily, brushing her lips with her fingers. "For my Dads to be happy for me, and for Mercedes to be wrong." Rachel laughed. "Oh, and World Peace," she threw in. Talking about wanting a relationship with Quinn made her feel a bit uncomfortable as the idea seemed so new.

John scrutinised her carefully. "I think all that's possible, except maybe World Peace." He held his hands up to ward off Rachel's protests. "I said 'possible', I didn't say easy. First step is, you need to talk to Quinn."

"I don't think she wants to talk to me," muttered Rachel. "I think she wants to lynch me."

"I'm not convinced Terry? Tina?" Rachel nodded. "Has said anything." He handed over his phone to Rachel. "Quinn texted me earlier." He watched Rachel hurriedly scan the text exchange before reading through again more carefully. She handed him his phone back.

"Okay, she doesn't want to lynch me... yet." Rachel conceded. "But once she..."

"You have the opportunity to explain your side to Quinn. I think you should take it as soon as possible, before she does force it out of Tina." He paused. "Or Mercedes." Rachel paled. "Shall I organise it?" John waved his phone at her.

She took the phone out of his hand. "No, I'll do it," she said, pressing the call button before she could talk herself out of it.

* * *

><p>Quinn snatched up her phone to answer it when it rang.<p>

"John?" she asked, wondering why she was so nervous.

"Quinn, it's Rachel" came the reply. Quinn's heart rate rocketed and her breathing became erratic. She finally managed a rather soft "Hi" as possible questions swirled around in her mind. Should she ask about...

"I'm sorry about earlier," a contrite sounding Rachel said equally quietly. There was a brief pause whilst they both recalled the events from earlier. It was soothing to listen to Rachel's breathing and Quinn had no wish to say anything that might cause Rachel to be upset. Rachel screwed up all her courage. "I wondered if we could meet and have a chat?" she asked hoping to avoid a drawn out conversation or giving Quinn the opportunity to ask her questions.

"Whenever, wherever, Rachel." Quinn's mind was racing. Was 'meet and have a chat ' the same as a 'we need to talk' - it sounded less ominous, but the intent was the same.

"Well, before school's probably a bit tricky," Rachel mused aloud.

"I'm happy to miss school," Quinn hastily interrupted before adding, "if you can." She just wanted to see Rachel, preferably sooner rather than later.

"How about the Lima Bean tomorrow at 9?" suggested Rachel. She might as well get her confession over with.

"That's fine," Quinn immediately replied. Could she hold on to her patience until nine?

"Rachel..." There was a conversational silence filled with hitched breathing. "Could you... I mean, well, just one question." Quinn managed throwing in a

"please" before Rachel could marshal her defences.

"Yes?" asked Rachel, afraid of what Quinn might ask.

"Are you in love with..." - '_Oh God, oh God'_, thought Rachel, her cheeks burning. - "Mercedes?" Quinn asked quietly, the pause in conversation causing her heart to clench.

Rachel was unsure what question she'd been expecting but it certainly wasn't that. Laughter bubbled down the phone at Quinn.

"No," Rachel managed to reply, her amusement seeping into the word. "Most definitely not." Rachel laughed again a combination of amusement, relief and nerves.

Quinn felt so relieved it overrode her embarrassment at actually asking the question. "Okay." Quinn tried to keep the conversation light rather than ask one of the other numerous questions she was keen to have answered. She tried to clear the lump in her throat and keep the longing out of her voice. " See you tomorrow."

" Er, yes, until tomorrow," responded Rachel, fighting the feeling of an impending doom. Neither was prepared to end the call, but neither wanted to risk saying too much. Quinn just wanted the connection to Rachel even if most conversational topics were too difficult. Rachel didn't want to end the call as this might be the last time they were in contact without Quinn wanting to kill her, and at least she could pretend they were on good terms, just for a while. Eventually, under John's quizzical gaze, Rachel managed a soft "bye."

Quinn swallowed nervously. "Bye, Rach," she replied, wondering whether she could add anything about how keen she was to see her. Her indecision was solved by Rachel ending the call.

Rachel felt relieved at sorting out a meeting, but worried about what she needed to relate.

"Cheer up, Rachel. On the bright side, at least you're going to fit in a fourth date," Uncle John joked with her. She threw a cushion at him. He was technically correct, but her great and almost overwhelming fear was that it would be the fourth but final 'date'.

John reached for her hand. "Now's the time for positive thinking, Rachel, now when it's the hardest," he said sincerely. Rachel gave him a weak smile. Positive thinking, she never wanted to hear that damned phrase ever again.


	14. Chapter 14

**Well as we hurtle towards the grand finale (ok that's hyperbole) I'd like to thank those taking the trouble to review - cheers. Special thanks to shinigami9x for the help fine tuning this chapter :)**

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><p>Quinn was in the Lima bean half an hour early as she had been unable to sleep. She seated herself in a corner so she could see the doorway, a rapidly cooling coffee and an untouched croissant sat in front of her. She'd spent the night running through her interactions with Rachel, her interactions with Rachel's dads and watching her Rachel video. She'd played out various scenarios in her head before concluding the genie was out of the bottle and turning off her feelings for Rachel was an impossibility. She'd tried not to build her hopes up just because Rachel had a video exclusively of her on her phone, or because their text exchanges had hinted at enjoying each others company, or because Rachel had actively gone out of her way to comment on Quinn's beauty, or even because they'd been pretty tactile in their one-on-one interactions. It didn't necessarily mean anything, did it?<p>

Quinn felt the weight of mistakes she had made – who in their right mind would want to be involved with a teenage mum from an intolerant family who had spent so much time being horrible? In all honesty, Rachel was too good for her, and she really should leave Rachel free to achieve amazing things without being dragged down by her and all her baggage. The Berry Dads were right to be wary of Rachel having any involvement with her. In fact, maybe this meeting was a bad idea – maybe Rachel was just coming along to list all the reasons they couldn't be friends, with a copious input from her Dads. In the unlikely event of Rachel wanting to be friends, surely she wasn't worth Rachel running the gauntlet of her Dads' rather deep-set disapproval. As for romance, it wasn't so much off the table as to be in the basement locked in a cupboard.

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><p>Tina glanced nervously around the classroom again. The lesson had started and there was no Quinn present, which was highly unusual. There was also no Rachel, which was unheard of. Rachel was never late; she seemed to consider arriving on time tardy, and she certainly had never missed a single day of school. Perhaps Quinn was somewhere busy digging a shallow grave to hide a body in? Tina smiled briefly at the ridiculousness of that thought before she started to seriously speculate on what might have happened. Quinn had gone round to Rachel's last night, and now both girls were uncharacteristically absent. Something must have happened. A catfight? It was hard to imagine Rachel participating in such an activity, and would Quinn be able to beat up someone who didn't attempt to defend herself? Then it struck Tina that maybe Quinn's wrath wouldn't be reserved exclusively for Rachel. It had all been Mercedes idea and she'd just been an innocent bystander – not really an argument that was going to win her any points or mercy. She'd even tried to get the stupid bet called off. Mercedes and Rachel were so stubbornly über competitive with each other that they'd rejected that opportunity to avoid all this mess. Tina sighed. Quinn would be gunning for both her and Mercedes, so she should be glad Quinn wasn't in school today. Should she warn Mercedes? She was more in favour of just letting events play out; it was entirely Mercedes fault she was in this mess, she'd just wanted a couple of solos out of it. She decided she'd make an effort to contact Rachel if she didn't appear by the end of the day, partly to find out if Rachel was okay, but partly to get the heads up on what Quinn might have planned in the way of revenge. If Rachel could still talk, that was<p>

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><p>Rachel parked her unusually music-free car in the car park adjacent to the coffee shop. Despite an extensive and eclectic range of songs on her iPod, she couldn't decide on an appropriate music accompaniment for her journey. Somehow Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique - March To The Scaffold seemed a little too dramatic, if rather apt, for her early morning car ride. No doubt somewhere there was a country tune that fitted her circumstances exactly but, after a night of tossing and turning, she didn't have the energy to find it. So she had driven from Uncle John's with only her troubled thoughts to fill the silence. She still didn't know how to broach the topic of the challenge, or even how much she'd get to say before Quinn unleashed a verbal ear bashing. Quinn wasn't a 'leave in a dramatic flourish' kind of girl, but more a 'verbally lash out and try to hurt as much if not more' sort of person. Quinn had the power to hurt her; she just hoped she'd be able to hide the devastating effect of Quinn's words like she usually did. It wasn't as if there were any new areas for Quinn to attack. She'd comprehensively, and somewhat brutally, insulted every aspect of Rachel over the years. The Quinn she'd been interacting with recently was so different - thoughtful, fun and someone she definitely wanted to know better - but she was going to be the reason for old Quinn returning. Rachel sighed as she pushed the cafe door open and took a step closer to her doom.<p>

Quinn noticed Rachel as soon as she entered the cafe. She was looking tired and drawn, she seemed drained of energy and her posture was uncharacteristically slouched. Quinn wanted to rush up and hug her and reassure her that everything was all right and would be okay. Quinn's day had just got better. She bit her lip; she was uncertain where things stood between them, so she resisted the urge to offer comfort. Rachel ordered her coffee before finally allowing her eyes to sweep the room. Her heart rate rocketed as she noticed Quinn, looking as beautiful as ever despite dark smudges under her eyes. She smiled in reaction to spotting Quinn, before the smile faded as she remembered why she was here. Quinn noticed the fading smile and felt suddenly scared of what Rachel was going to say. Rachel fought the urge to cry as she made her way to Quinn's table. She took a seat opposite Quinn before managing to mutter a "hi". Rachel's hand reached keen for contact to grab hold of Quinn's arm, but froze midair as she realised what she was doing.

"Hi." responded Quinn. She reached out to interlace her fingers with Rachel, and then brought both of their hands down to rest, joined, on the table. Rachel stared at their intertwined fingers and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. Quinn's thumb was gently stroking hers - perhaps they could just stay like this forever? Quinn searched Rachel's face for some clue of what she was feeling, with little success. Time slowly dragged on.

"Is everything okay with your Dads?" Quinn finally asked, desperate for some verbal interaction and a chance to try and read where Rachel was at. Rachel dragged her eyes away from their joined hands.

" Not sure really. I'm going on to meet them after we've..." She swallowed nervously before whispering, "talked."

Quinn squeezed her hand. "I'm sure it'll be okay," she said, wincing at the bland fix-all nature of her statement. "They seem quite protective of you," she added, hoping that didn't seem like a criticism.

Rachel smiled briefly, refocusing her eyes on their hands. "My Dads' intolerance of intolerance would be amusing if they weren't so strident and serious about it." Rachel sighed at the memory of her father's Fabray fixation, so very different from her own.

"I'm sorry if he said anything that upset or hurt you," Rachel said softly, her watery eyes locking on Quinn's. Quinn glanced down at the tabletop. Leroy hadn't really said anything undeserved; it had been harsh, but fair.

" Your Dads are probably right, on past experience, to be wary of me. I've been unhappy and hateful. I had no right to take my self-loathing out on you." Quinn struggled to force the words out. She disliked talking about herself. "I'd like to think I've treated you better recently, even if it doesn't even begin to make up for all the time I've been... um, mean." Quinn could feel tears pricking her eyes. Was she really feeling sorry for herself for being horrible? Rachel began to feel worse about her own actions – "_Suffering from poor self-esteem? Don't worry. Rachel Berry can kick you while you're down."_ ran through her head in the style of an advert.

"The past is past," reassured Rachel. No prizes for deep philosophical insights there, she then admonished herself. "What matters is how we deal with the present." _Please deal with the present in a sympathetic and forgiving manner,_ she failed to add.

"Rachel, you're kind-hearted, loyal, and don't intentionally hurt people – and you are probably too quick to forgive." Rachel wouldn't meet her eyes and was looking embarrassed. Quinn put it down to her shyness on being complimented and ploughed on. "You're more than just an exceptionally talented singer."

Rachel squirmed in her chair. T_ell her now_ yelled her inner voice. _Now_. She'd never felt so nervous. She'd always have a few butterflies before a big performance, especially if it was unrehearsed like 'Don't rain on my parade' had been, but this was a whole new level of fear.

"I don't know what Tina told you," she managed to say as her inner voice laughed harshly at her for stating the obvious.

"Very little," Quinn grinned, "I asked her what all the impossible stuff was about between you and Mercedes." Quinn broke off; perhaps admitting she thought Rachel and Mercedes might be involved wasn't a good idea. She'd come across as highly jealous - which she was, but that was hardly a selling point. "Um, anyway she just kept repeating I needed to ask you."

Rachel was split between feeling pleased Tina hadn't blabbed and irritated that Tina had left her to explain everything. Where to begin? She really didn't need Julie Andrews in her head telling her to 'start at the very beginning, a very good place to start'.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but Mercedes and I have a somewhat antagonistic relationship," Rachel stated. Quinn nodded wishing Rachel hadn't used the word relationship in the same sentence as Mercedes.

"When we're not fighting over solos..." Rachel inched closer to the precipice.

"Which you should have every time. It shouldn't even be a contest," asserted Quinn, surprised when Rachel didn't acknowledge the truth of her statement. Rachel missing an opportunity to exert her right to every solo meant things were indeed very serious.

"Then we're trying to prove the other wrong over anything, homework, music, TV shows. You name it, we'll have argued about it." Rachel paused. There was no reason to add that she invariably won such disagreements, which had resulted in Mercedes becoming more and more determined to prove her wrong. Quinn nodded to encourage Rachel to continue, still unsure where this was leading and how it involved her.

"Anyway, we were talking one lunchtime and I was advocating the power of positive thinking." Rachel so wished she'd never broached the topic. She might win every argument with Mercedes, but she was in an amateur league compared to her when it came to manipulating people. How skillfully she'd been set up.

"Positive thinking?" Quinn was mildly amused. Was Rachel's drive and energy all about positive thinking?

" You know, nothing's impossible if you put your mind to it," Rachel explained deciding to skip the part about 'even if you really don't want it'.

Quinn grinned. Given Mercedes naturally pessimistic and negative manner, she could imagine how well that conversation went.

"So Mercedes set you something impossible to achieve then," ventured Quinn, understanding how easily Rachel would have been attracted to such a proposition. Impossible wasn't really in Rachel's vocabulary. Rachel was virtually unstoppable, if somewhat scarily intense, once she set her mind on something. Quinn recalled Rachel persuading the girls to step up and play for the football team. although the others had drawn the line at the intensive training program that Rachel had also suggested. Quinn smiled fondly at the memory of Rachel in a football kit.

"I... er, well, 'nigh impossible', yes," floundered Rachel.

"'Nigh impossible'?" queried Quinn.

"Well, walking on water, flying to school, and me singing flat are just never going to happen. Mercedes wanted to set something theoretically possible, but so incredibly unlikely that I'd fail," Rachel tailed off.

Quinn was smiling indulgently at her.

"I love the fact you're so confident about your singing ability," Quinn said fondly. "Totally justified of course," she added, noting Rachel's worried expression.

'Don't be distracted, her admiration of anything to do with you is going to be short-lived,' Rachel told herself.

"Anyway, Tina thought I should give up all my solos to the pair of them and be happy about it, which is, quite frankly, outrageous when you consider the impact that would have on the entire glee club." Rachel recognized she was babbling, but didn't know how else to blurt out what she needed to say. "So Mercedes said that wasn't nearly impossible enough, that something far closer to impossible was needed, and then she suggested..." Rachel paused to swallow nervously.  
>"She said I should... Well, she challenged me to..."<p>

Quinn felt herself nodding in an attempt to encourage Rachel to spit it out.

"She challenged me to go on four dates," Rachel finally managed to say, noting Quinn's quizzical look. "With you," she added softly, watching the words have an immediate impact. Quinn withdrew her hand from Rachel's and her face became expressionless, making her features appear sharper. Rachel reached across the table to try and place a hand on Quinn's arm. She just needed Quinn to listen to her. Quinn leaned back to avoid Rachel's outstretched hand, simultaneously fixing Rachel with a glare. Rachel felt panicked. She could tell Quinn was retreating physically and emotionally from her.

Suddenly, Quinn stumbled to her feet. It had all become clearer to her now: Rachel went out with her because of some stupid bet she had with Mercedes, not because she liked her. How could she have been so stupid as to think Rachel could actually like her? Nobody really liked her. Even her own family had rejected her. She was incredibly conflicted, wanting to slap Rachel, shout and scream at her as well as ignore her. The idea of Mercedes and Rachel both laughing at her was mortifying - bet the failed attempted kiss was a particularly amusing anecdote, although Rachel's current expression didn't suggest she found any of their present interaction humorous. Quinn needed to escape before she said something that did irrevocable damage. She needed to go away and think rationally about everything, and most of all she needed to escape as soon as possible and not allow Rachel the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She headed for the door with Rachel scrambling after her.

"Quinn, please don't leave! We need to talk. I didn't... It wasn't like it sounds." Rachel ignored the curious looks from the other customers as she chased after Quinn. It felt imperative that she didn't let Quinn think their interactions were just due to a stupid bet. Quinn pulled the door open rather more aggressively than she intended and strode onto the street.

"I tried to get out of it once I realized..." Rachel pleaded. "I really enjoyed our time together. I thought you did too. I didn't mean to hurt you. Please talk to me." Rachel was trying to make Quinn stop by standing in her path, but Quinn kept dodging round her, refusing to meet her eyes.

Quinn was striding towards her car, struggling to keep her emotions under control and only half listening to what Rachel was saying. Trust Rachel to be uninhibited enough to allow her tears to show. Did she have no pride?

"It was a mistake. I wanted to tell you, but everything just happened too quickly. Quinn, please. No one at school knows we went out together. I think we could be good friends. I like spending time with you." Rachel hardly had time to spare on formulating decent arguments; she was busy trying to delay Quinn and wipe tears from her eyes so she could see where she was going. Disaster didn't even begin to cover the current situation. They were at Quinn's car; she needed a killer argument right now. Quinn fumbled with her car keys. She could feel tears beginning to well up. She just needed to get away from here.

"Don't shut me out. Talk to me. Shout at me, do something!" Rachel begged as Quinn opened the car door.

A tight-lipped Quinn tried to ignore her. She was just about holding herself together. She mistakenly quickly glanced at the devastated girl in front of her. She momentarily considered just hugging her. She hated to see Rachel look so sad, but self-preservation and pride stepped in.

"Don't let us part like this. Quinn, I'm sorry. Please?"

Rachel was sounding increasingly desperate. Quinn shut the door and scrambled to put the keys in the ignition. She avoided looking at Rachel as she didn't want to see what expression matched the anguish in that voice. She didn't want to be tempted into some act of forgiveness.

Rachel beat her hands on the driver's window.

"Quinn, please. We have the potential to be so much more than friends." Rachel threw caution to the wind, but to no avail.

Quinn finally managed to pull away in the car, just before her tears started.

With a rising sense of despair, Rachel watched Quinn's car drive away. She and Quinn might not have been friends before, but now everything had changed: there was no hope of going back to how they were before. She didn't really have time to process all that had just happened as her Dads were expecting her presence at a family meeting very shortly. 

Rachel headed towards her car. She needed to pull herself together in order to face her Dads' need to talk over the events of the previous evening, in excessive detail, with a dissection of accompanying feelings. Rachel sighed, wiped her eyes and straightened her shoulders, and now for the best performance of her career to date. Unless she wanted some kind of family therapy with her Dads, she needed to present a rational, happy, just mildly disappointed front to them, not too devastated by the events of last night nor too blasé. It was a delicate balance to strike, and her Dads would be scrutinizing her for just the tiniest sign of anything out of the ordinary that they could worry obsessively over. Time to hide her devastation. She grimaced. Her meeting with her Dads would be equally painful, just in a different more soul-searching, hand wringing kind of way. Now would be an ideal time to run away, but she'd already played that card. As for Quinn - she bit her lip to fend off a wave of fierce emotions - it was out of her hands. The ball was in Quinn's court and Rachel would just have to suck up whatever Quinn felt she needed to do. There certainly wasn't any song to fit her current situation, she mused as she started her car and drove off in silence.

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><p><strong>It's tempting to end the story at this point and leave you to your own imaginations...<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**Firstly apologies to anyone who took me seriously at the end of last chapter (when so many different ways the story could go lay ahead) but .. wow... what a huge number of comments! Thanks for the imaginative threats and the encouragement to continue - I'm afraid the rabid koalas are to be disappointed and a wedding to Finn is off the cards. Thanks anyway for taking the effort to comment.I think this should be the penultimate chapter (but no promises)**

**Apologies for the length of this instalment but I haven't had the time to reduce it and I thought I'd better post something soon...**

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><p>Rachel sat in her car in the McKinley school car park trying to compose herself ready to enter the hustle and bustle. She checked her phone, trying not to be disappointed that Quinn hadn't replied to her text requesting that they talk. She'd survived the post mortem with her Dads over recent events relatively unscathed by adopting a conciliatory tone and defining the parameters of the discussion to exclude Quinn. She was always outnumbered as her Dads prided themselves on presenting a united front. She was also disadvantaged by the fact her Dads had once been her age and therefore considered themselves experts on whatever she was going through which, combined with hindsight gained from their long years of experience, meant arguing was a pointless exercise. However she had needed to present enough resistance for her Dads to feel she was participating full heartedly in the discussions. It had been agreed she was allowed to choose her friends and that her Dads would attempt to get to know her friends better before forming a judgement, although that was a bit of a moot point now. She'd had to relinquish ground on how she'd handled the situation agreeing that running away was never the answer. One of her most convincing performances of contrition she felt. So here she was wondering how to face her peers or, more importantly, what would happen when she ran into Quinn. Rachel glanced again at the school doors. No, she was too battered and bruised emotionally to deal with the stresses of being at the bottom of the food chain at McKinley High (was there anything beneath plankton? she wondered briefly). The last thing she needed to deal with was some co-ordinated slushy assault orchestrated by Quinn. She needed more time to muster her defences. Rachel checked the time; she didn't need to delay much before she could return to a guaranteed empty house. She made one last futile check of her phone before she drove off.<p>

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><p>Quinn had headed to the park and was currently trying to use the few crumpled up tissues she'd found by foraging through the glove compartment to make herself look presentable. The last thing she needed was concerned old people asking her if she was okay or worse telling her not to worry, as 'it' might never happen. It had happened thank-you very much. Finally ready to face the world she exited the car and set off at a brisk pace towards her favourite bench. A cold wind was blowing and rain had begun to fall. She didn't mind because the weather seemed to suit her mood. How had it all come to this? From ruling the school to being some kind of fodder for bets or dares or whatever. Nobody cared about her or her feelings - obviously Mercedes and Rachel didn't consider her feelings worth bothering about. The pair of them were welcome to each other - except they weren't. Quinn sighed, her record on the relationship side might not be stellar but making the assumption that going out with her for four dates was impossible couldn't be seen as anything other than grossly insulting. Four - surely it took more than that to really see how unlovable and worthwhile she was? Her dalliances with Finn, whether as official girlfriend or when she was cheating on Sam, hadn't really led to many proper dates. They just sort of hung out together with him desperately trying to get to second base and her desperately coming up with excuses why they shouldn't. She shuddered at the memory. It was a similar situation with an impoverished Sam although the second base situation was easier to avoid, as they were always invariably baby-sitting for at least one of his siblings. Okay so maybe she was hard pressed to come up with four or more date like activities with either Finn or Sam, it didn't mean she was impossible to date, just that she'd had poor taste in boyfriends. In fact discerning taste obviously wasn't something she could claim to have as she'd agreed to go out with Rachel, the loser of all losers even if she was attractive, attentive and funny. What had she been thinking? Maybe she was the one guilty of being puppy-like. A couple of compliments on her appearance and she was ready to roll over and have her tummy tickled - Quinn quickly clamped down on the idea of Rachel tickling her tummy as unhelpful - god, how pathetically desperate for some positive attention was she? Quinn sighed again, she was getting sidetracked. Rachel had made a fool out of her, she was probably the laughing stock of Glee, if not the school, and she just needed to suck it up.<p>

* * *

><p>Rachel had decided that a music-free environment really wasn't for her so had set her iPod on shuffle. It did mean that every now and then she had to fly across the room to hit the next button each time a song started that reminded her of Quinn but it was better than an oppressive silence. In a way it was quite amazing how many songs were about break-ups, heartbreak and unrequited or lost love. Probably career ending for a songwriter to fall in love and live happily ever after then mused Rachel. She paced about her room glancing at her phone every few minutes trying to will Quinn to text her. Finally she turned her phone off. She needed to talk to Quinn and Quinn didn't want to talk to her. So how to move forward from here? At best Quinn would be ignoring her very existence and at worst she would be insulting and slushying her in an attempt to distance herself from any vaguely friendly feelings she might have had for her. To corner Quinn to force a conversation was an exercise in futility with hints of masochistic tendencies.<p>

So if talking was out, texting, emailing, letter writing or communicating through song were the remaining options. Rachel considered each one carefully. Texting obviously hadn't worked so far and Quinn could delete her texts without reading them and she wouldn't know, so not ideal. Ditto for email and letter writing now she came to think about it. She could picture the pleasure Quinn would take in ripping up an unread letter in front of her accompanied by some scathing remarks about having better things to do with her time than 'reading the pathetic ramblings of a delusional tranny'. In fact if she sent an email she could imagine Quinn forwarding it and using it as a means to make Rachel look like a sociopathic stalker - definitely not a good idea. Right well that left communicating through song, which incidentally would play to her strengths and possibly Quinn's weakness. She briefly recalled Quinn's excitement after watching her sing to a crowded hall. She just needed to choose the right song. Something to subconsciously remind Quinn of that live event, so something from the rock genre then? Nothing too mournful or pathetic as Quinn didn't really have any time for shows of weakness. Probably not the ideal time for a song professing undying love or unrequited lust as Quinn struggled to discuss feelings in private so any expressed towards her in a public forum would result in embarrassment which would quickly morph into anger. Rachel settled down at her computer, time to find the right song. She probably only had one shot at this and it would need to be a performance in Glee club. A song with a message for Quinn that everyone else would be oblivious to. Rachel's past record for subtlety wasn't strong but she'd give it a go.

* * *

><p>A rather damp Quinn finally and reluctantly made her way back to what was laughingly called her home. Her place of residence more like. She showered and changed trying hard not to spend all her time thinking about Rachel and how easily she'd been played. She needed to steel herself against the Berry effect - she needed to be aloof and emotionless for her return to the hell of High School. Some catchall insults wouldn't go amiss but mainly an avoid-and-ignore-Rachel approach was the best she could come up with. She didn't have the energy for a campaign of intimidation - maybe later when she didn't feel so <em>crushed<em>. She hadn't really been listening to Rachel as she hurried out of the cafe that morning trying to beat the onset of tears. Not that it mattered really, Rachel had gone out with her in response to a bet and there was nothing Rachel could say that would change that. Right now her first priority was to build up her immunity to Rachel's - no, make that manhand's - appeal. Okay Rachel was physically attractive and obviously a highly talented singer not to mention a thoughtful and engaging companion on their 'dates' but she was also... Quinn paused. What had been their reason for picking on her other than her being an easy target with her unconventional family and dress sense, her self-confident and focussed on Broadway manner and her complete lack of interest or aptitude for anything sporty? All these minor irritants made Rachel stand out from her peers but weren't really enough to deflect Quinn's current like of Rachel. She tried again, how could she possibly like someone who took absolutely no account of her feelings and fooled her into believing they could be friends? Rachel had manipulated and misled her. Feeling her anger rise Quinn clicked on her Rachel video. She couldn't maintain her indifference - Rachel Berry singing to an audience fully appreciative of her talent was such an awesome spectacle. Quinn fought the urge to smile before a crushing sadness descended. How on earth did she manage to convince herself that a girl this amazing would be interested in a girl as unamazing and talentless as herself with her teenage mother baggage and her delightful dysfunctional family? Rather than focussing on Rachel perhaps what she needed was a firmer grip on reality.

* * *

><p>Rachel took her usual meticulous and methodical approach to finding a suitable song judging each candidate against her admittedly rather vague criteria. The ideal song was still elusive but by being wrapped up in the search she had become distracted from the passing of time only half acknowledging the return home of her Dads. Her concentration was broken by her Dad calling up the stairs for her to come down because she had a visitor. Rachel tried to dampen down the desperate hope that it would be Quinn as she hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen. She tried hard not to show her disappointment on spotting Tina seated at the kitchen table. This was quickly followed by a wave of fear. Would Leroy realise this was the girl's whose merest mention by name by Quinn had had Rachel running for the hills only yesterday?<p>

" Hi Tina, did you forget to tell me something in English today?" Rachel quickly asked hoping to give Tina the hint that her Dads didn't know she hadn't been to school. It was a clumsy question but the best she could do on short notice. She gazed at Tina and hoped the girl was going to specialise in soap operas if pursuing a performing career because her facial expressions were a complete give away - oh you don't want your parents to know you weren't at school written all over them. Tina squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. She'd dropped in to see if Rachel was okay, as she hadn't been answering her phone - not something Tina could be annoyed about since she used a similar strategy. One of Rachel's fathers had answered the door and had been extremely solicitous and over friendly, insisting on inviting her in the house and then falling over himself to find a beverage and snack that she might enjoy. All a bit, well, creepy particularly when Rachel's other father joined in the maniacal grinning and then seated himself opposite her gushing about how lovely it was to meet her. Tina was immensely relieved by the appearance of a seemingly unscathed Rachel in the kitchen - so Quinn hadn't hurt her, or not physically anyway. Now Tina was struggling to interpret Rachel's question, as she hadn't been in English, in fact Rachel hadn't been in school all day. Tina quickly glanced at Rachel's over friendly fathers before gradually realising that they didn't know that Rachel had skipped school. Oh.

" I..I..was.j..j..just wondering if we c..c…could discuss the homework" she finally managed to say noting a brief flash of relief on Rachel's face.

"Milk with your tea? We have an extensive collection of different types including soya milk," Leroy asked placing a cup and saucer of black tea in front of Tina. Rachel gaped at the cup and saucer before giving her Dad a quizzical look. The best china?

"Or maybe sugar, we have white or brown?" added Hiram as Tina again shook her head.

'Perhaps we should retire to my room and begin to plan our response to.." started Rachel before being quickly interrupted by her Dads

"No girls stay just a bit. Thelma.." Leroy began

"Tina" corrected Tina quietly. Rachel bit her lip waiting for the penny to drop for Leroy.

"Tina, has barely started her tea" He smiled enthusiastically at Tina. Rachel tried to smother her sigh of relief.

"Rachel honey, give us an opportunity to get to know your friends," added Hiram and with that the weird vibes around the table became clearer to Rachel. Her Dads were doing exactly what she demanded they did this morning – she just couldn't decide whether they were being deliberately awkward to punish her or not. The adage 'be careful what you wish for' never seemed so apt. Rachel rolled her eyes and tried to shoot a "sorry about my Dads' look towards Tina who was staring intently at her tea.

"Is everything okay with your tea, I could always make you another one" asked Leroy

"It's lovely thanks" managed Tina gulping the contents of the cup down and wincing as the hot liquid made its way down her throat. She wanted to be anywhere but here.

"Tina, my Dads. Dads, Tina. We're in Glee club together and English. Obviously" Rachel was trying to expedite Tina's exit from the uncomfortable scrutiny of her dads

"Anyway." Rachel hurried on, "we only have a small window of opportunity to complete our poetry appreciation so we do need to utilise ever spare moment" Rachel paused," You wouldn't want my grades slipping now would you" she finished pleased with the emotional blackmail she'd managed to throw in. Her triumph was short lived; she was no match for Leroy

"Tina, could you spare a few moments from your studies so that Rachel's poor Dads' can get to know her friends a little better" Leroy asked fixing Tina with a suitably pleading look. Tina could only smile awkwardly in response.

"So Tina, what are your plans for the future? Hoping for a career in performance?" enquired Hiram leaning forward over the table to indicate his interest. Every use of Tina's name had Rachel tense and waiting for realisation to dawn for Leroy. Fortunately her Dads were so intent on being ultra friendly that the significance of the name was eluding them.

"Yes and how did you become friends with Rachel? What is she like as the Glee club co-captain?" asked Leroy.

"Oh and perhaps you could share your thoughts about Rachel's performances with us she's always so reticent about it," added Hiram and at this point Rachel knew they were punishing her. Reticent was the very opposite of her approach to providing a detailed commentary on her own performance

"And do you share other classes with Rachel?" asked Leroy shooting a big grin at Rachel as she scowled at him for effect. At least he wasn't asking her what she'd said to Quinn.

Tina was beginning to look like a cornered rabbit as her eyes darted between Rachel's Dads'.

"Dad, Daddy please. Tina and I have a deadline to meet" Rachel had finally managed to regroup.

"Rachel" scolded Leroy fondly, 'Give your friend a chance to speak"

"Oh please," muttered Rachel hands on hips and eye rolling to Olympic standard.

"Deadline" managed Tina wondering how Rachel managed to be as normal as she was with such overbearing parents," I. we. d..d..d. deadline" she tried to clarify.

"Tina's future plans will be a moot point if she doesn't get the grades, particularly in English" snapped Rachel, her pool of patience beginning to run dry.

" I majored in English and poetry criticism was one of my specialisms perhaps I could help" offered Hiram, " We wouldn't want Tina or you losing out on your grades just because of a short conversation now would we?"

"That's very kind of you Dad but I'm not sure parents doing students homework fits with the McKinley High homework policy. Overseeing and encouraging yes, taking over no" said Rachel firmly

"Tina would you like my help?" Hiram asked Tina directly.

"I er its er k..k..k..kind of you to offer" Tina licked her lips nervously," b..b..but I think well we sh..should do it b.b by ourselves" Tina was ready to collapse after the effort of speaking that sentence. There was a silence as Rachel and her Dads seemed to embark on a staring contest whilst Tina made a massive note in her head never to come round to Rachel's house ever again if there was even the remotest chance of one of her fathers being in. On second thoughts, scrap that. Never coming round ever again.

"Come on Tina, we'd better get started" Rachel grabbed Tina's arm to shake her out of her stupor. Tina stood and stumbled after Rachel, relieved to finally leave the interrogation room unscathed. She spent her life, as a member of a big family and second row of the chorus, barely noticed by anyone to suddenly now be the intense focus first of Quinn and then of the Berrys was way outside her comfort zone. She needed to make atonement with her Gods for whatever she did to irritate them.

"I just wanted to check you were okay," Tina said mournfully as they finally reached the sanctuary of Rachel's room.

"Okay?" queried Rachel. Why wouldn't she be, apart from the series of events that Tina should know nothing about?

"Well Quinn came to talk to you last night and then neither of you were in school today" explained Tina, "What did you tell Quinn?"

"Oh the Impossible stuff?" asked Rachel airily trying to ignore the increase in her heart rate and the tears beginning to pool in the corner of her eyes. She turned away from Tina," I just made up some nonsense about vocal range and Mercedes inability to believe me"

Tina stared at Rachel's back. Something was off here, why would both Quinn and Rachel take the same day off school?

"Is there something going on between you and Quinn?" ventured Tina, realising the ridiculousness of the sentence as she finished it. Rachel laughed heartily turning to face Tina. She looked Tina directly in the eye.

"I can assure you, Tina, that absolutely nothing is going on between Quinn and me," she said sincerely before adding "Absolutely and positively a big fat nothing" No ambiguity there.

Tina couldn't help feeling she was missing something, Rachel's laugh had seemed to lack its usual warmth. but her desire to leave the Berry household was far stronger than the urge to try and squeeze more information out of Rachel. It didn't take long to say hasty goodbyes trying to avoid any interaction with the Mr Berrys - Tina almost cried with relief when she reached the refuge of her car.

* * *

><p>Hiram knocked on Rachel's door before popping in<p>

"Poetry criticism already finished?" he asked feeling a bit guilty about his earlier behaviour. Leroy and him were still trying to come to terms with the fact that Rachel had actually, well, run away from them. Maybe they'd been a bit passive aggressive about their annoyance? Rachel just glared at him.

"I hope you and Daddy are pleased with yourselves. Keep it up and soon I'll have no friends," she said angrily. Hiram took a step closer only to be stopped by Rachel's raised hand," Please don't. I just want some space." She turned and sat down at her computer ready to continue her search for the perfect song. Her Dad, after spending some time looking at her back, finally stepped out of her room and closed the door quietly behind him. Now Rachel felt she could let her tears flow again stopping only when a possible candidate for her song appeared on the screen in front of her. She googled the relevant YouTube clip and watched it wide-eyed. Okay she wouldn't be able to get a battle cruiser backdrop on such short notice nor was she prepared to sit astride a big gun literally or figuratively. She might be able to persuade Puck and Matt to don sailor outfits if there were any in the prop cupboard but she certainly had no intention of wearing an outfit that consisted solely of a single piece of three-inch wide leather - although the looks on the faces of the rest of Glee Club would almost be worth it. Rachel stared at the YouTube clip again as her shock level receded. She could however do the hair with relative ease and it went without saying that she could easily out sing Cher. ' If I could turn back time' made it on to her shortlist of possibilities currently comprising of just one song. The lyrics weren't perfect but the sentiment was spot on and maybe that would just have to do. Now if she could just focus on the song rather than all the questions that immediately sprang to mind about Cher's outfit she might be ready for tomorrow's performance.

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><p><strong>I've learnt my lesson so note the absence of jokey reference to next chapter being ready for the planned zombie apocalypse :)<strong>

**Oh and the Cher clip - honestly if you haven't seen it you really should youtube v=mEszTzdUMcY**


	16. Chapter 16

**A big thanks to all those reviewing and to shinigami9x without whom this would have been shorter but more disjointed - not to mention packed with comma splices ;) . This is a bit longer than usual so be warned unless you're Amanda in which case be pleased !**

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><p>Quinn dragged herself reluctantly out of her car. She was sleep deprived and dreading going into school. Would tales of Rachel persuading her to go out on three (or four if you counted yesterday's meeting) dates be rife around the student body? Did ridicule await her just through those doors? Quinn Fabray, from Cheerios captain to school loser's dupe. As her standing declined, no doubt Rachel's would rise. She took another few paces forward. How on earth did Rachel bounce into school every morning wide-eyed, bushy-tailed and unfazed by the fact that a succession of slushies and insults awaited her? She'd never really thought about the strength of character and resilience that Rachel had shown. She decided to channel Rachel; she wouldn't be able to do the smiling good-humoured part, but she could walk into whatever fate awaited beyond those doors with her head held high and secure in the knowledge that she in some way deserved it. She glanced at the incoming text on her phone.<p>

**Let me know when you're ready to talk. R**

She deleted the message. There was nothing to talk about. Maybe, if she ever managed to escape from this godforsaken town, she'd be able to start afresh, and just maybe someone would think her worthy of their time. She just needed to see out the little time left of her school career without amassing any more rejections and completely crushing her ego. Quinn strode through the doors projecting an air of confidence that she really didn't feel.

Rachel felt exhausted before the school day had even started. Her Dads' contrition this morning for their behaviour around Tina was too little, too late, and so draining. Her emotional housework was done as her Dads had left this morning thinking she was back to her usual peppy self. Fat chance. She looked at her red-rimmed eyes in the car mirror - wrong time of year to claim hay fever. She'd just have to keep a low profile and try and avoid anyone who might ask; fortunately, that was a rather short list. She grabbed her bag from the passenger seat and exited her car. She had two emergency slushy kits just in case Quinn launched an all-out revenge attack; she thought she probably needed more change of clothes than she'd managed to pack, but there was a limit to the size of bag she could leave the house with without her Dads cross-examining her (or probably thinking she was moving out, judging by how things had gone recently). If worst came to worst, she could always wear the outfit she'd brought in for her Glee performance.

She tried to stop 'The Only Way is Up' playing in her head – fate would hardly be able to resist such provocation – and instead focussed on her breathing. She had the energy to force her lips into a half smile, and then walked towards the school entrance. Maybe she was experiencing her own gravitational force as her limbs were heavy and every step was such an effort. Rachel just wanted to slump to the floor and weep, but she knew this wasn't really an option – too many students at the school would delight in her defeat.

"Morning, Trixie!" she cheerfully greeted the Cheerio currently lip-locked to one of the footballers. Now there was a surprise: Trixie had the manners not to speak when her mouth was full. Rachel quickened her step towards the door - might as well get this over with.

* * *

><p>"Quinn, are you okay?" Brittany's worried voice asked from behind Quinn as she stood at her locker. She turned and Brittany immediately pulled her into a hug. Quinn fought the urge to relax into the hug and let loose the tears lining up on her eyelids; instead she stiffened in the embrace, and Brittany quickly took the hint and released her. Brittany slurped on her slushy looking at Quinn expectantly.<p>

"Why? What have you heard?" challenged Quinn. Brittany was hardly a reliable source of information, but Quinn had enough experience in de-coding Brittany speak to be able to assess what gossip was being circulated about her.

Brittany gave her a puzzled look as if she was the one who didn't make sense.

"You weren't in school yesterday," Brittany said still confused, "I didn't hear anything, should I have done?"

Quinn managed a tired smile. "Sorry, Brit, just felt a bit under the weather," she explained as Santana joined them. She wouldn't be sparing Quinn's feelings if she knew anything. Santana scrutinised Quinn's face closely.

"You look like shi…"Santana started.

"San, be nice" Brittany interrupted and forced her unfinished slushy into Quinn's hand. "Try this, Quinn. Cherry red is good for energy." She leant in conspiratorially. "Lord Tubbington swears by it."

Quinn opened her mouth to challenge this statement before a scowling Santana made her change her mind.

"Thanks, Brit. That's very kind," she mumbled as Santana pulled Brittany away.

Quinn stared at the drink in her hand before walking over to the bin to rid herself of the straw. Her return to her locker coincided with Rachel walking the other way down the corridor, heading towards her own locker. Their eyes met and Quinn noted Rachel's glance down to her hand holding the slushy before she took a further step forward, stopped and closed her eyes, putting her arms down by her sides and offering herself up as a target. Quinn took the opportunity to drink in the sight of Rachel, from her tanned toned legs up to her form fitting shirt, her unusually pale pallor, and the cute way she bit her lip steeling herself for the expected slushy assault. Quinn wanted to reach out and stroke Rachel's cheek, or run her fingers through those dark tresses, instead she stepped back towards the bin and threw the cup in it. She took some pleasure at watching Rachel flinch at the noise. The action gave her a chance to calm her racing heart and regulate her breathing. School was going to be unbearable if just meeting Rachel in the corridor did this to her.

* * *

><p>Eventually, Rachel warily opened her eyes – she wouldn't put it past Quinn to wait for just such a moment before launching the corn syrup drink at her. She was met by the sight of a puzzled looking Tina staring at her.<p>

'Rachel, are you sure you're well enough to be back at school?" Tina asked sympathetically taking in the red-rimmed eyes of the girl in front of her. Tina was in a sympathy overload state when it came to Rachel – how did Rachel, as an only child, cope with such unrelenting attention from her Dads? Tina's empathy was overflowing and she had her arm around Rachel's shoulders before she even stopped to think about it, pulling the girl into a side hug.

"I'm fine," managed Rachel, disconcerted by Tina's completely unexpected show of affection. She just caught in the corner of her eye Quinn scowling at her as she slammed her locked door shut and strode away. Rachel was even more bewildered. Maybe she was still asleep? Quinn hadn't slushied her, Tina was hugging her; she just needed Mr Schue to appear and profess how envious he was of her musical talent that far surpassed his own abilities… Rachel froze as Mr Schue headed down the corridor towards them. "Rachel, Tina." He nodded at them as he passed. Rachel stopped pinching herself because it hurt.

"Tina, I need to go to my locker," Rachel finally said as Tina continued to side-hug her tightly without saying anything.

"Oh. Um, yes, of course," muttered Tina red-faced as she released Rachel and then followed her to her locker. "We've got English together so I'll walk with you."

Rachel didn't have the energy to argue. She just hoped Tina didn't feel the need to hold her hand or hug her on the way. She then handed some of her books to Tina to carry to keep her hands occupied. There, problem solved.

* * *

><p>Quinn sat stony-faced at her desk, scowling at anyone who tried to sit in the chair next to her. She was trying hard not to watch the door, waiting for Rachel to arrive. She needed a second surreptitious look – was Tina carrying Rachel's books? Rachel had her eyes firmly focussed on the floor, so Quinn didn't even have the opportunity to glare at her. Although now she came to think about it, you didn't glare at people you were ignoring. There was a kerfuffle as Tina insisted someone moved so that she could she seated next to Rachel, and then Tina placed her hand on Rachel's arm and leant in to say something quietly into Rachel's ear. Quinn was seething. No wonder Rachel had laughed at the suggestion she might be in love with Mercedes; no wonder Tina had been bewildered by her asking about whether Mercedes and Rachel were romantically involved. Quinn strained to hear the hushed conversation going on between Rachel and Tina. Phrases about 'dropping round' and 'last night' floated towards her, followed by something about Rachel's dads and Rachel reassuring Tina that her Dads had liked her. Quinn felt a wave of jealousy wash over her - of course Rachel's dads would like <em>little Miss meek and mild wouldn't say boo to a goose<em> Tina - followed by a wave of despair. If she truly liked Rachel, she'd be happy she was happy, she told herself. No, it didn't help in the slightest; she was obviously not cut out for the selfless role - that probably explained her lack of friends.

* * *

><p>Rachel could feel a tension headache beginning to build and that didn't bode well for her make-or-break performance that afternoon. She glanced sneakily at Quinn, only to be disappointed to realise Quinn was intently focussed on either Tina or the vocabulary part off the whiteboard in the same eye line. Rachel massaged the back of her neck as she considered whether to mention to Tina the fact that her tactility was making her uncomfortable. She looked at Tina's hand resting on her arm - it seemed the mention of her Dads had had Tina looking at her with pity and unable to resist the urge of laying hands on her.<p>

"Tina, I need my hand to make notes," she whispered.

Tina looked apologetic and removed her hand only to then place it on Rachel's shoulder and then lean in.

"Rachel, I…" Tina started, but whatever Tina had been about to share was lost as Mrs Easterlly called their attention to the matter in hand: the role of misunderstandings and ineffective communication in the Romeo and Juliet story. Rachel hoped misunderstandings and ineffective communication didn't have such a drastic outcome in her own 'story' - perhaps 'Romeo and Juliet - The Musical' would have had a better outcome if all had been revealed through the power of song? Somehow she wasn't holding out much hope for her planned performance to change Quinn's mind; the ex Cheerio seemed stubbornly determined to believe the worst of Rachel. Quinn was looking drained but annoyed. All Rachel wanted to do was hold her tightly, murmur reassurances and soothe that troubled brow, press her lips gently against Quinn's - this wasn't helping.

* * *

><p>Time was passing incredibly slowly so, by lunchtime, Quinn felt as if she'd been in school for at least a week. Even when she was in lessons without Rachel, the singer was still on her mind. She was constantly running through memories of their 'dates' and trying to fit those actions and words into an image of a scheming, devious Rachel intent on her humiliation. Something was off: no one seemed to know about Rachel winning the bet. Then there was the touchy-feely stuff going on between Tina and Rachel, or rather Tina seemingly unable to keep her hands off Rachel. Quinn could understand the compulsion to be constantly touching Rachel - boy, could she understand that - but Tina? Was Tina, there was no kind way to say it, really a better choice than her?<p>

Quinn was beginning to wonder whether she had anything to lose by hearing Rachel out. At least it meant she could have some time with Rachel's attention focussed solely on her, and she'd know for sure where she stood. Her finger hovered over her phone as she composed a 'let's talk' text to Rachel before the howling of her inner voice to 'stop being so pathetic and needy' stopped her. She continued pacing the school corridors again, only to be stopped by the rather surprising sight of Tina and was that Mike? sharing languid kisses pressed up against the lockers. 'Thank God it isn't Rachel' thoughts were quickly replaced with outraged 'what the f*** is Tina playing at?' Quinn forced herself to stride past. She and Tina were going to have words once Tina finished cleaning Mike's tonsils with her tongue.

Rachel spent the lunchtime sitting in her car munching on her salad and fast forwarding through practically every track that dared to play on her iPod. This was the only place she could think of to escape Tina's over solicitous attention. Besides, she'd seen Mercedes shooting predatory looks her way which didn't augur well for her emotional well-being either. Everyone knew she hung out in the library, auditorium or choir room, so here she was, hiding in her car. It didn't matter if anyone saw her because this would just reinforce her no-mates loser status. On the plus side, she'd been able to shed a few tears without fear; although whether they were tears of self pity or frustration she didn't really know. She felt her eyes well up again and this time, rather than fight it, she played her Quinn video and immersed herself in pitiful regret of what could have been.

Quinn didn't have to wait long before an oblivious Tina wandered down the corridor. She dragged Tinna into the Girls' bathroom and backed her into the wall. Quinn glared, breathing deeply to try and control her temper. Tina was looking at her wide-eyed and scared. Good. Quinn hadn't thought through what she was going to say and, now that she'd embarked on this course, it suddenly seemed a very bad idea.

"Q..q..q.." managed Tina, "c..c..can I help you?"

Quinn moved her face closer to Tina's. "Hurt Rachel at your peril," she finally managed to spit out as the girl cowered from her.

"W..w..what?" Tina spluttered to be cut off by a finger waving in her face.

"Don't make me say something _you'll _regret," hissed Quinn before she stepped back, gave Tina a last intimidating look, and then left the bathroom.

Tina slumped against the wall bewildered, puzzled and somewhat relieved. She had thought Quinn was about to take revenge for her non-part in the Mercedes-Rachel bet. Instead Quinn had, well, had she been standing up for Rachel? Tina shook her head; Quinn was an enigma at the best of times and a ferociously bitchy enigma at the worst of times. There was nothing to gain from trying to work out what on earth was going on in that pretty head. Perhaps a little distance from Rachel would be advisable.

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><p>Rachel was beginning to lose her nerve as Glee club time approached. She'd changed her outfit in record time, but was feeling distinctly uncomfortable as she headed to the choir room wearing the jeans, vest top and plaid shirt she'd worn to the Ginger Aardvarks gig. The occasional student gaping at her on the way wasn't helping. Right, focus on the bigger picture, she told herself. She needed to provide visual reminders of their enjoyable time together as well as conveying a message by song. With a deep breath, she stepped into the choir room and headed to take a seat next to Tina who was chatting to Mike. Tina turned to see who was alongside her before leaping out of her chair like a scalded cat and sitting down the other side of Mike, away from Rachel. Rachel schooled her features to impassivity, but inside she was bewildered and a little hurt. She was beginning to wonder if school had been easier when everyone disliked her – there was none of this mixed messages shenanigans. She could feel Mercedes giving her a curious look, and willed herself not to catch her eye and invite a conversation. Mr Schue's late arrival had never been more welcome. Rachel imposed her performance on him before he had a chance to launch into whatever one word lesson he had planned today – although from the look of relief on his face Rachel surmised he'd probably hadn't planned anything and was about to 'wing it'. She passed the music to the band and then took her place in the middle of the room.<p>

"I... er... um." Rachel's mouth had suddenly gone dry and her brain was refusing to form sentences. Her heart was beating hard against her ribs. She wiped her damp hand on her jeans and pictured an auditorium packed with strangers in front of her to calm her nerves.

"We need a bit more rock in our lives, and for me the sentiment of this song is particularly pertinent," Rachel said, risking a look at Quinn. Quinn was adamantly staring at the door. Rachel didn't have the courage to remove her shirt and make some reference to how hot it was – dancing with the microphone stand it was then, to evoke memories. 'Here goes nothing' thought Rachel as the drummer beat his sticks to count the band in. She swayed to the intro of "If I could turn back time". As soon as she sang the first note her nerves disappeared and she immersed herself in the song. The adrenalin rush from the performance gave her courage to look at Quinn at what she considered the relevant lyrics. She was too busy concentrating to be able to decipher the expressions on Quinn's face and flicking her hair in time to the music did require some concentration if she wasn't going to temporarily blind herself.

Quinn had to stare hard at the wall to prevent the tears that threatened to fall when she took in Rachel's outfit. As Rachel moved her hips in time to the music and pulled the microphone from the stand, Quinn felt her the air rush out of her lungs and her blood began pumping loudly in her ears. She gripped both sides of her chair to stop herself from rushing up to hug Rachel. She bit back a groan as Rachel began owning the performance space pacing back and forwards imploring the audience to believe she didn't know why she did the things she did. Rachel caught her eye on not meaning to hurt her or make her cry and Quinn had to look away. Rachel was in full performance mode now and dancing around the floor, suggestively wriggling her hips and demanding the full attention of everyone in the room. Quinn dragged her eyes away from the sexy apparition in front of her to take in the reactions of the rest of the gleeks. Puck's lascivious grin needed wiping off his face, and Finn's gaping mouth made him look more of an idiot than he usually did. Mercedes was smirking and looking all too pleased with herself considering this was a Rachel performance, whilst Artie, Tina and Mike were dancing along in their seats. Santana and Brittany joined Rachel for some impromptu dancing and Kurt just looked unimpressed – well ,rock songs weren't really his forte. Quinn tightened her grip on the chair as the song drew to a close, wishing she too could turn back time.

Rachel soaked up the wild applause and whistling that greeted the end of her performance, ignoring Puck's remarks about how hot she was. Quinn was not joining in the applauding; she just gathered her things together and left the choir room after a brief word with Mr Schue. Rachel felt her heart drop but kept a smile plastered to her face as she made her way back to her seat.

"Girl, we've so got to talk," Mercedes said to her as she passed and Rachel's mood darkened a bit more. She was going to round off her miserable day with some verbal sparring with Mercedes - oh joy. Mr Schue began to talk about female rock icons – it wasn't going to be a long lesson then, mused Rachel.

Quinn sat in a darkened classroom trying to pull herself together. She wanted to cry with frustration at being able to look but not touch. Did that song mean Rachel regretted making the bet? Was there a chance...? She cut off that thought before her hopes were raised. This might be all part of some grand scheme to let her make even more of an idiot of herself than she had managed so far. Perhaps Rachel was just ready to show more of her outside school self to the Glee club, perhaps that outfit was her only jeans and top combination or maybe Quinn's memory was playing tricks on her. Quinn sighed and then groaned when she realised she'd left her bag, complete with car keys, in the choir room. She'd wait for everyone to leave before she ventured back to retrieve her belongings. Perhaps a bit more Rachel rock was needed while she waited – she pulled out her phone and found the video. Yep, definitely the same outfit.

Rachel's more extreme scheming about kidnapping Quinn, tying her to a chair and forcing her to listen to her, was interrupted by the noise of her fellow Gleeks racing for the door. She began to gather her belongings, looking up as a shadow fell over her.

"Sooooo, Rachel, can you spare the time for a chat?" asked Mercedes flashing her white teeth at her. Rachel noted Tina hovering in the doorway, undecided whether to stay or go. Tina looked between the two before sighing then reluctantly coming over to join them leaving the door ajar. Mercedes settled herself in a chair, smiling jovially all the time at Rachel.

Rachel swallowed the frustrated sigh fighting to escape and instead turned on her best beaming smile. "Always have time to chat with you, Mercedes" she smarmed, pleased to note her enthusiasm dented Mercedes confidence slightly.

"Turn back time eh?" stated Mercedes, "Worried you're going to be proved wrong and wishing you never took me on, eh?"

Rachel smiled," You're forgetting you didn't agree a time constraint so I hardly think.."

"Well, in that case, Rachel, let's just have a progress report. Have you even managed to talk to Quinn without getting your head ripped off yet?" asked Mercedes, sure what the answer would be.

"Mercedes, Mercedes, please. You know how I am for meticulous planning – I'm still busy warming up with the twelve labours of Hercules." Rachel grinned as she noted Mercedes smile begin to fade slightly.

"So basically you've made no progress," said Mercedes.

"Well, I'm hopeful I'll have the belt of Hippolyte by the end of the day..." Rachel trailed off on noting Tina's puzzled expression. "The ninth labour," she clarified.

"Stop with the twelve labours nonsense. You're just delaying because you can't bare to be proved wrong," snapped Mercedes.

"Well, that's not totally fair," offered Rachel, although she really couldn't bare to be proved wrong.

"You accepted a challenge and now you can't face up to the fact that you've failed and that I was right," Mercedes goaded.

"Technically..."

"Oh, stop with all excuses about no time constraints" Mercedes interrupted. "You've had, what, three weeks?"

Rachel nodded. Was it only three weeks, it felt like a lifetime?

"So have you been on four dates with Quinn?" Mercedes demanded. Rachel just stared at her. "Three? Two? Or even one?" Mercedes was waving her fingers at Rachel. Surely it was a Freudian slip to use that particular finger to illustrate one?

"Um well..." Rachel stalled, not wanting to lie.

"Have you asked Quinn out?" Mercedes was now encroaching on her space begining to sense blood.

"We're not exactly on speaking terms at the moment" muttered Rachel truthfully.

"Just admit it, Rachel. Quinn wouldn't even spit on you if you were on fire. You never stood a chance. It's laughable that you thought you did." Rachel glared at Mercedes but bit her lip. "Honestly, Rachel, did you really expect the most attractive girl in the entire school to even look at you with your overbearing, obnoxious...?"

"Mercedes," warned Tina.

Rachel glowered at Mercedes before slowly unclenching her fists and making an effort to relax her posture.

"This wasn't about personality, this was about positive thinking" she clarified, wondering whether Mercedes should remove the plank from her own eye before focussing on the splinter in hers. Overbearing and obnoxious – how rich.

"Whatever way you want to dress it up ,I challenged you, you accepted and then spectacularly failed," said Mercedes looking annoyed. "You just can't deal with being wrong."

"There is no spectacularly failing about this." Rachel watched Mercedes's frustration grow. "And yes, I have very limited experience of being wrong, unlike yourself, but..."

Mercedes was outraged. "You think you're so much better than everyone else, but you need to face up to it, Rachel. No amount of positive thinking could possibly persuade Quinn to date you. Reality check - maybe you ain't as wonderful as you think," Mercedes spat out, hand on hip and head moving from side to side as her finger jabbed erratically in Rachel's direction.

Rachel refused to be intimidated and moved forward to go eyeball to eyeball with Mercedes.

"I _know _I'm as wonderful as I think I am," replied Rachel raising Mercedes temper another notch.

"Okay, Miss Wonderful, just how far have you got 'cos I don't see Quinn treating you with anything but contempt," Mercedes retorted before it gradually dawned on her that the assassination of Rachel's character was a red herring. Then suddenly she had a brainwave. Rachel could almost see the cogs turning in Mercedes' head. "Maybe rather than trying to get a straight answer from you, I should go direct to source," pondered Mercedes giving Rachel an evil grin. "You're not the only possible way of gaining information."

"What do you mean?" asked Rachel, stalling for time, knowing precisely what Mercedes meant.

"Weeeelll," drawled Mercedes suddenly relishing all the advantages of her new plan. "If you can't tell me, I'll just have to ask Quinn. I'm sure she'll be fascinated to find out you entertained the ridiculous hope of dating her not just once but four times." Mercedes grin was just malicious. The more she thought of it, the better the idea seemed.

Rachel leaned back and her mind raced at the possible implications. Quinn didn't know what had or hadn't been said. She'd think Rachel had been gloating. She'd never speak to Rachel ever again and just regard her with total disdain. They'd be no way back for the pair of them from that, and at the moment Rachel still held on to the faint hope that eventually they might sort things out. She had little room for manoeuvre.

"Leave Quinn out of it," Rachel said quietly. "We should never have involved her in this."

"Up to you, Rachel. You want Quinn kept out of it, you need to come clean," Mercedes replied maintaining eye contact with Rachel.

They glared at each other and Mercedes felt a thrill of triumph when Rachel looked away first. Rachel straightened her spine before once again looking Mercedes directly in the eye.

"Okay, Mercedes, you're right, I'm wrong," she stated watching Mercedes's face transform into one enormous smile. "Positive thinking isn't always effective..." She was interrupted by a pleased looking Mercedes waving her hands at her.

"Whoa, girl, back up and say that again." Mercedes grinned at her. She had waited so many years for this moment; she certainly needed to savour it.

"You're right, I'm wrong," repeated Rachel slowly enunciating each word clearly and slowly as Mercedes basked in her discomfort.

"What were you wrong about?" asked Mercedes.

Rachel sighed. "I was wrong to believe I could get Quinn to go out with me."

"Because?" encouraged Mercedes. This was better than she had hoped.

"Because positive thinking isn't as wonderful as I made it out to be," replied Rachel incredibly calmly, trying not to let Mercedes have the pleasure of knowing just how much each word pained her.

"I was thinking more because she's way out of your league," laughed Mercedes as Rachel seethed internally, but fought to keep a neutral expression on her face.

"So much for all that victory will be mine stuff, eh," added Mercedes leaning forward to pat Rachel's cheek as she stood to gather her things.

"Can't wait for tomorrow," added Mercedes cheerfully as she headed towards the door. "This is a moment to be shared: Rachel Berry finally admits she's wrong and I'm right. There must be a song for this." And with that Mercedes practically danced her way out of the room.

Tina waved a hand in the air as if uncertain whether to place it on Rachel's shoulder. Rachel managed a tight smile.

"Don't worry, Tina, I'm fine," Rachel lied as she readied herself to head home.

"Quinn isn't out of your league," stated Tina as they began to leave the room "You're out of hers." Rachel laughed without humour. "In fact I think Quinn..." began Tina only to be cut off by Rachel.

"I don't want to talk about Quinn if you don't mind Tina," she said quietly.

They headed towards the car park, both too wrapped up in their own thoughts to notice a shadowy figure enter the choir room behind them.


	17. Chapter 17

**Oops unintentional cliffhanger last time - sorry! Big thanks to those sparing the time to review and of course cheers to shinigami9x for being a critical friend ; ) To the anonymous reviewer ( mercedes fan?), sorry but this chapter probably isn't to your taste either : (**

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><p>Quinn's mind was reeling. She was finding it difficult to make sense out of what she'd overheard as she'd waited for the choir room to clear. She'd been unable to tear herself away once she realised Rachel was involved in the conversation. Her mother always said that eavesdroppers never heard anything good about themselves, but she hadn't heard anything bad about herself. Quinn had been expecting Rachel to disclose her triumph, complete with humiliating details about how easily Quinn had been taken in, and bask in Tina's and Mercedes's admiration, so she almost hadn't stayed to listen but something odd about the tone of voices had led her to remain hovering, unseen, by the door. Okay, so Rachel and Mercedes going toe to toe hadn't exactly been a surprise but why hadn't Rachel just gloated about winning the bet rather than putting up with Mercedes goading? At first she'd thought Rachel had just been ratcheting up the drama before the big reveal but the big reveal hadn't ever arrived. What was Rachel playing at?<p>

Quinn also needed to adjust her thoughts on why she'd been chosen as part of the bet too. It wasn't really about her and her less than stellar relationship history, but more about the fact she was considered way out of Rachel's league for unspecified reasons, although the implication seemed to be because of her physical attractiveness. Quinn wanted to laugh. Could they not _see _the havoc wreaked on her body by motherhood, never mind the damage her social standing had taken? Her hurt feelings were just collateral damage in the whole episode and never part of the plan. She'd been selected just because of her sustained efforts to humiliate and belittle Rachel, so it was some kind of karma then that she ended up feeling belittled. That said, Quinn was still surprised that the prevailing opinion was that she wouldn't spit on Rachel if she were on fire. It felt oddly jarring and so far removed from the truth. Admittedly, she used to be downright mean to Rachel, but had no one even noticed the gradual change in their interactions in the last couple of weeks? Was anyone even looking? She might draw the line at catching a grenade, jumping in front of a train or taking a bullet in her brain for Rachel, as that annoyingly catchy song went, but she'd do more than spit if Rachel was alight. Why hadn't Rachel stood up for herself? She'd prevaricated when in fact she'd held all the cards. Rachel had won the bet, probably far more easily than she'd expected as a lonely Quinn sucked up the attention, but she hadn't told anyone of her easy triumph - it made no sense. It was as if Rachel had been guarding what was left of Quinn's reputation by letting Mercedes and Tina believe nothing had happened between them and that the usual hostilities were in play. But why? In addition, Rachel had to tolerate Mercedes's barrage of insults and preening when she could have easily stopped it with a few words or a photo from her phone. Rachel had been protecting her when there was nothing to gain from it and no one to appreciate the nobility of her actions. Why would she do that? Why?

Quinn was immersed in thought as she made her way back to her car. The only logical reason for Rachel's behaviour was guilt. Or dare she hope, some concern over Quinn's feelings? Was there a possibility that Rachel actually liked her? Quinn was suddenly feeling happier and her feelings threatened to overwhelm her. She cut off that train of thought. Empathetic Rachel knew how upset she'd been on finding out about the bet and was now trying to make things right. Rachel's behaviour allowed them to behave as if the past three weeks had never happened. Her reputation remained unsullied. Her and Rachel could just go back to whatever it was they were pre-dates. So why did that feel so hard? She should take no further interest in Rachel's affairs. This led Quinn into considering Tina's behaviour. She was obviously protective of Rachel, in her own pathetic way, and that remark about Rachel being too good for Quinn was obviously an attempt to get into Rachel's good books. Did this mean Tina was still, well, keeping her options open? Quinn took a calming breath. Rachel was probably vulnerable at the moment particularly after that run in with her Dads. An image of Rachel's distraught face moments before she fled the doorstep confrontation popped into Quinn's mind. Rachel needed comforting and was probably sorely in need of reassuring kind words, words that a usually tight-lipped Tina might think she could provide. Right, she needed to keep an eye on Tina around Rachel – purely for Rachel's sake, obviously. Maybe with enough time her own feelings for Rachel would lessen and she'd be able to move on from her misguided crush. It was all a case of mind over matter – if she didn't mind, it wouldn't matter.

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><p>Rachel dragged herself reluctantly into school the next morning. Her Dads were being painfully attentive and she was exhausted from presenting a cheerful joie de vivre front to them. This, combined with her night of tossing and turning, pulling apart her song choice and performance, as well as trying to work out how to, or even if she should, rebuild bridges with Quinn meant she was just one kind word away from a flood of tears. Luckily, kind words were unlikely to be directed her way: Mercedes had her in her sights, Quinn was ignoring her and Tina seemed to be torn between hugging her or running away from her - there seemed no rhyme or reason as to which it would be.<p>

If she'd had been just a bit more energetic, then her worst-case scenario musings of last night would have included the extremely clichéd event that was about to unfold. If you just stood back and looked at how the last few days had been for her, it was inevitable that this would happen. Yet she hadn't realised this until she closed her locker to come face to face with a small wilting bunch of way-past-their-best flowers held out in the large, rough hand of a tall and rather awkward looking Finn. This was probably not the best time to drop to her knees and throw her hands up in the air and wail 'why me?' at whatever deity was gunning for her. Instead Rachel gripped the folder in her hands tighter, pulling it into her chest, as if it could protect her from what her racing mind told her was going to be her worst start to a school day ever.

"Rachel," Finn began, using her name to try and fine-tune his voice to a reasonable pitch.

Along the corridor Quinn took in the unexpected scene, noting with disdain the pathetic bunch of flowers. What was it with everyone suddenly being attracted to her Rachel?

"Finn," Rachel responded neutrally, wondering how to politely, but quickly, close this conversation down. She pointedly ignored the flowers.

"I've been thinking," he continued. She seriously doubted that. "I mean after your song yesterday," he added. Rachel fought the almost overwhelming urge to roll her eyes. Was every teenager so self-centred that they thought everything revolved round them? Did everyone in Glee club think she was singing exclusively to them? Maybe this was a useful talent for her future career but so, so unhelpful right now. She made a mental note to be far more specific in future dedications; for the moment she could only regret a choice of song that everyone seemed to think relevant to their circumstances.

Finn shifted slightly uncomfortably, Rachel was making this a bit harder than he had expected.

"So, um... I thought we... er, could turn back time." He felt inordinately pleased with himself for managing to reference the song. "And date again." He tailed off. Why wasn't Rachel more excited about this?

Quinn stopped herself from scoffing, but then began scowling. Surely Rachel wouldn't even consider..?

Rachel eyed Finn sceptically. " Really?" she asked, but her tone was far from the enthusiastic one he was expecting. "You _really_ think that's a good idea?"

Quinn felt a huge flood of relief – that was a no then. Finn looked at Rachel puzzled. Well, duh, of course he thought it was a good idea else he wouldn't be asking. He'd thought about Rachel having regrets and wanting another chance and he was man enough to let her have that, particularly now that he'd been dumped by that over demanding Cheerio with her unreasonable expectations of him putting her first. To be fair, Rachel was a rather spectacular kisser and all that sexy dancing yesterday had clued him into what else she might be good at, almost worth the knock his popularity would take by being seen with her (again). Although perhaps they could date, but not hang out much together at school? She'd be pathetically over grateful for having a boyfriend and maybe she would express that gratitude physically in the privacy of her soundproofed bedroom? He nodded his reply only for Rachel to sigh heavily.

"So you think you can now handle my 'intensely annoying need to be in control of everything'?" she asked.

"Oh, ouch!" thought Quinn on Finn's behalf before images of Rachel being in control began to warm her.

Finn grinned. Rachel was always putting him first and worrying about how he felt. He'd missed that." Um yeah," he replied. Rachel's face gave nothing away to him.

"Ready to handle my overbearing protective fathers who are responsible for spoiling me and turning me into a demanding and selfish person?" Rachel inquired calmly.

Quinn watched Finn stumble on obliviously through the conversation. Was he not picking up Rachel's hostile body language even if her tone didn't reflect her hostility?

Finn looked at Rachel slightly confused; there was something vaguely familiar about what she was saying. He muttered another 'yeah' to keep the conversation flowing while he tried to figure out what was actually going on. Maybe she was just doing her usual clarifying-everything-to-death, and he just needed to hang in on the conversation until he received the response he wanted.

"You do realise I still have 'an irritating and childish need to be the centre of attention' and I'm still 'unable to appreciate how difficult things are for you'?"

Rachel was now on a roll. Quinn wanted to laugh; she'd never really appreciated Rachel's humour before – her politely inquisitive yet sincere tone was just perfect. Finn could feel a nagging sense of deja vu in what she was saying but still stuck stubbornly to 'yeah'.

"I presume you still think it's my own fault that others pick on me and that you shouldn't have to stand up for me?" Rachel continued maintaining a steady eye contact with Finn. Quinn felt a wave of annoyance at him – he'd actually said that?

Finn smiled. This was going even better than he'd thought it would. He nodded and gave an enthusiastic "yeah". The last thing he needed was the hassle of making a target of himself by standing up for Rachel when her in-your-face attitude practically begged other students to bully her.

"And you'd probably prefer not to be seen together around school in case your popularity is affected?" Rachel asked calmly. Finn could hardly contain his happiness; it would be ideal. He nodded again. Rachel eyed him carefully before stepping closer.

"And those are just a few of the reasons why I'm going to say no thanks. If I do go out with anyone it'll be someone who likes me for who I am and is proud to be seen with me," she said clearly. Quinn winced at the thought of her own previous behaviour of worrying about being seen with Rachel – was she really no better than Finn?

"But..." managed Finn as understanding slowly seeped in.

"Finn, let's be honest here. You don't really like me and that's okay, I'm not overly fond of you either."

Quinn could hardly contain her grin. Well, that was one less person to worry about. Even better, Rachel was so clearly not the slightest bit interested in Finn on even a _let's be friends_ level. Why that made Quinn want to dance excitedly for joy she was refusing to contemplate.

"Let's just forget this conversation ever happened and be pleased we avoided repeating past mistakes," stated Rachel as she stepped past him and headed for first lesson.

"But the song?" he called after her.

"Wasn't meant for you," she replied not even breaking stride. The person it was meant for admired the graceful swing of the hips as Rachel strode past her.

The familiarity of Rachel's words suddenly hit Finn: that's what he'd said to her when they broke up. Knocked back with his own words, now that was a new and not particularly enjoyable experience.

* * *

><p>Rachel felt an almost overwhelming sense of achievement at being able to avoid Mercedes for the early part of the day, but as lunchtime began to loom she knew her luck was about to change. Her 'head down and engrossed in the lesson' strategy wouldn't work for lunchtime and might unintentionally come off as cowed and defeated. Rachel certainly wasn't going to take the easy option and hide from Mercedes and whatever gloating she had planned. No, she would just have to take whatever Mercedes was going to throw at her, and not be prodded into revealing anything in a fit of pique. She squared her shoulders and made her way to the cafeteria; maybe she wouldn't be able to hear Mercedes over her crunchy salad?<p>

Mercedes had waited a long time for this day. Constantly being proved wrong by Rachel was one thing; Mercedes knew she sometimes carried on the argument even when she knew she was wrong, but being persistently upstaged by Rachel at Glee Club was another. If Rachel wasn't at this school she'd have been the main voice of Glee Club and not just some back up singer asked only to warble a few high notes just to make songs seem like some kind of collaboration rather than Rachel solos. She knew deep down that Rachel was a phenomenal singer and probably overall, everything considered, a tiny bit better than her – not that she'd ever verbalise that thought to anyone, anywhere, ever. She envied Rachel's ability to be unfazed by her loser status, oblivious to the weight everyone else placed upon it. Rachel dominated Glee club with her ideas whilst also excelling academically seemingly with ease. In fact, for all of Rachel's loser status, she'd certainly had more boyfriends than Mercedes. It wasn't envy of Rachel really, she told herself just… something else. Mercedes smiled as she spotted Rachel entering the cafeteria. Never one to runaway or hide, she'd known Rachel would turn up to take on the chin whatever Mercedes had to say. Mercedes felt a little frisson of affection for Rachel, which she quickly dismissed. She was here to enjoy her long awaited triumph over the annoyingly talented Glee Club Captain. This was her moment.

Quinn seated herself at the Glee club lunch table opposite Mercedes and next to Kurt. She ignored the curious looks directed her way and fought the urge to smile as Rachel joined them and took a seat next to Artie, equidistant from both her and Mercedes. Quinn took the opportunity to surreptitiously observe Rachel as she meticulously laid out her lunch items from her bag. Why was Rachel tucking her hair behind one ear causing her such palpitations? When Rachel licked her lips in anticipation of her home made salad, Quinn had to fight to contain a groan whilst listing in her head reasons why throwing herself across the table and pressing her lips to Rachel's now moist lips was a bad idea. Getting over her crush was going to be harder than she anticipated if Rachel was going to be this damned adorable. Her admiration of Rachel from afar was interrupted as Tina cut across her eye line. Tina made as if to sit next to Rachel. She was nearly seated when Quinn's scowling finally had an impact. Quinn was pleased as Tina straightened up as if in receipt of a massive electric shock and then scurried round the table and placed herself next to Mercedes, hardly daring to raise her eyes from the table once she was seated. Quinn was free to resume her subtle ogling of Rachel, searching for flaws to fixate on but instead finding yet more things to admire on the immaculately turned out singer.

Mercedes looked across to Rachel and Rachel returned her look with a steady gaze, almost daring Mercedes to bring it on. Mercedes glanced quickly at Quinn. Quinn seemed rather distracted by whatever student the footballers were tormenting behind Rachel. Although Quinn's presence was unexpected, it didn't need to cramp her style; it wasn't as if she was allowed to reveal details.

"So, Rachel, want to share with the table your latest new experience?" asked Mercedes. Not her best line ever but she couldn't really think how to kick the conversation off.

"Sorry, Mercedes," replied Rachel swallowing her mouthful of salad and waving a perfectly manicured hand in the direction of her ears. "I can't hear you over the celery."

Mercedes frowned but then rallied. "That's okay, I'll share on your behalf." She swept the table to ensure she had everyone's attention although Quinn still seemed a bit distracted - probably better that way.

"Yesterday Tina and I were privileged to witness an historic event." Mercedes grinned. "Care to repeat what you said yesterday?"

"Not really," muttered Rachel as she continued crunching on her lunch with as much nonchalance as she could manage.

"Rachel admitted she was wrong." Mercedes paused dramatically. "And even more amazingly, admitted that I was in fact right. After years of smug superiority Rachel has finally fallen flat on her over-confident face."

Both Artie and Kurt stopped to stare at Mercedes with expressions of mild surprise and total shock respectively.

"So I was incorrect, big deal," threw in Rachel hoping to move the conversation along and trying not to hesitate over the first phrase.

Kurt turned to her with disbelief still written all over his face and his hand clutched dramatically to his heart.

"Who are you and what have you done with Rachel 'always-right' Berry?" he asked.

Drama Queen, scoffed Rachel in her head. She was sure there had been a minor incident last year - or was it the year before? - when she'd had to correct an erroneous statement she'd made previously. Her being wrong wasn't that unusual an event, for pity's sake.

"Wow," muttered Artie drawing out the word. "Never thought I hear you say that, Rachel. Are you sure you're well?"

Quinn decided Rachel did actually look a bit under the weather now that Artie came to mention it. Tired eyes and a stiff body posture caught Quinn's attention. That worried brow needed soothing.

Kurt turned his focus to Mercedes. "I'm impressed," he said his tone reflecting his awe. "How did you manage it?"

Mercedes smirked. "A careful bet."

"More of a challenge," corrected Rachel. "A thoughtless and potentially hurtful challenge." She braved a glance at Quinn, but Quinn looked away hurriedly, a slight flush rising up her cheeks.

"That you in all your arrogance were only too eager to accept," responded Mercedes. "Or are you now admitting to poor judgement as well?"

Rachel harrumphed but said nothing. The quicker the conversation ended the better. She could see Quinn was looking distinctly uncomfortable.

"Rachel was pontificating on as usual, this time about the power of positive thinking and, when asked for a practical demonstration, came up woefully short." Mercedes explained. Rachel wondered idly whether it was necessary to be catholic to officially pontificate, surely it was more suitable to say she was haranguing them?

"To be fair we did set her a nigh impossible task," Tina mentioned in a bid to help Rachel out. She immediately regretted her contribution as she noted Quinn's attention had snapped back to her and Quinn was giving her an icy stare.

"That Rachel was conceited enough to think she could do," explained Mercedes.

"What task?" asked Kurt, his appetite whetted.

Tina, Mercedes and Rachel all waited for one of the others to answer. Reluctantly Mercedes took up the conversational reins.

"Doesn't matter, Kurt. The thing is Rachel was wrong, even more amazingly she admitted it and, even better, admitted that I was right." Mercedes was positively vibrating with excitement.

Quinn released the breath she didn't realise she'd been holding.

"Not going to need therapy then, Rachel, after such a shock?' asked Kurt

"Admitting you were right, Mercedes, do you have that on video?' Artie inquired.

"No need, we'll rerun the conversation," smirked Mercedes. "Rachel, before I have to seek confirmation elsewhere" - Mercedes's eyes briefly flickered towards Quinn - "in relation to the bet, no sorry, challenge we had."

Rachel sighed. Quinn's potential involvement necessitated revealing the details of the challenge; she couldn't let that happen.

"Who won?" Mercedes asked.

"You did." Rachel tried to keep any irritation out of her voice, but Quinn could feel Rachel's reluctance to join in with this conversation.

"So who was wrong?" asked Mercedes with a big grin on her face.

"I was," muttered Rachel trying to take solace from the fact she'd been right.

"Sorry, couldn't quite hear you," replied Mercedes cupping her hand to her ear.

"I was," said Rachel a bit more loudly, her annoyance getting harder to disguise.

"I think a full name is needed in the confession." Mercedes smirked enjoying Rachel's obvious reluctance to play this game.

"I, Rachel Barbra Berry, was wrong." Rachel glared at Mercedes as she struggled to keep her voice level. Quinn felt sympathy for Rachel and irritation with Mercedes.

"And who, full name please, was right?" Mercedes was enjoying this immensely.

"Mercedes Jones," Rachel managed to force out struggling to keep her exasperation in check. What were they, five years old? Quinn was feeling more uncomfortable as the conversation progressed. Why didn't Rachel put an end to this charade?

"Full name and full sentence please." Mercedes was on a roll and Rachel's temper was not improved by noting that Artie and Kurt seemed to be enjoying this. She daren't look at Quinn.

"Mercedes Jones was right." Rachel allowed resignation to seep into her voice, but bit back the snarky additions she wanted to make to the sentence about just how unusual an occurrence that was. It would only prolong the agony.

"And now all put together in one long heart warming sentence," Mercedes prompted her.

Rachel took a deep breath. Enough was enough - she wouldn't indulge Mercedes any further. In the resulting pause all eyes came to rest on Rachel. Mercedes looked at her and then did a slower meaningful glance in Quinn's direction. Rachel sighed in defeat.

" I, Rachel Berry, was wrong and you, Mercedes Jones, were right," she said quietly. "Everyone happy now?" Rachel could feel her control on her emotions beginning to slip. Her phone pinging with a text distracted her. Her heart momentarily stopped when she saw it was from Quinn.

**For goodness sake, just tell them the truth.**

Rachel looked at Quinn, but Quinn was studiously ignoring her. She immediately texted back.

**If you want them to know then you tell them**

Mercedes continued to make conversation about how the mighty were fallen, asked how often Rachel overestimated her abilities and then inquired after her strategies for coping with discovering she was fallible. Rachel was no longer required to participate in the conversation, just to listen to quips and jokes at her expense. She was tuning most of the conversation out and staring at her phone. What did that message from Quinn signify? To Rachel's disappointment, Quinn made no effort to say anything as the ridicule about Rachel being wrong continued. She finally stood to leave the table on the pretence of needing to sort her books out for the next lesson, but really a brief sobbing session was required. Rachel sent Quinn a final text, disappointed that text etiquette didn't seem to include a font to indicate regret.

**I thought not**

Rachel excused herself from the group, fighting the impulse to run and the temptation to burst into tears. She'd survived round one with Mercedes so it would all be easier from here apart from whatever gloating song Mercedes had chosen for the Glee club meeting. Quinn watched Rachel leave, disappointed with herself for not being able to spare Rachel the ordeal of being the object of everyone's amusement. The teasing was borderline bullying. Maybe she was as bad as Finn with her reluctance to stand up for Rachel.

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><p>Glee club panned out exactly as Rachel had expected, although that didn't mean she was particularly well equipped to deal with it. Mercedes kicked the session off with a song that was 'particularly pertinent' to her, called 'I was right' by a band, New Year's Day, that Rachel had never heard of. Mind you, considering the song seemed to mostly consist of the refrain 'I was right, you were wrong' their absence from her radar was hardly surprising. Mercedes was in full emoting mode with a hand pressed to her chest on the 'I was right' and outstretched towards Rachel on the 'you were wrong'. Mercedes threw in a few gestures of wriggling four fingers in Rachel's direction for good measure. Even Finn seemed to pick up the point of the song, so Rachel was incredibly disappointed when Mr Schue asked Mercedes to share the inspiration behind her performance. A cat that got the cream would have looked a bit downhearted when compared to Mercedes's expression as she had yet another opportunity to relate her triumph to a slightly wider audience. Rachel was disheartened but unsurprised when Mr Schue made a remark about thinking he'd never live to see the day that Rachel admitted she was wrong. Never one to let professionalism stand in his way of trying to be popular with the students, thought Rachel bitterly as Mr Schue's remark opened the floodgates for a repeat of the whole lunchtime experience, this time with Santana's bitchiness allowed free expression and Kurt singing a poorly reworded 'when I see an elephant fly' to include something about 'when I see Rachel Berry apologise' which one, didn't even scan properly, and two, missed the point entirely. She often apologised but never for being wrong.<p>

Rachel tried to project a nonchalant and unconcerned front to her peers but it was becoming harder. Tina leaned round Mike at one point to squeeze her hand sympathetically and tears immediately sprung to her eyes. Rachel quickly imagined herself singing on that New York stage. Crisis averted. The Glee rehearsal seemed to drag on and, for the first time ever, Rachel found herself clock watching, although quite what she wanted to rush home for she had no idea. Perhaps her Dads would start up again about her 'friend Quinn' and whether she'd done any more sneaking out to meet her.

Quinn was sitting at the back of the choir room feeling distinctly uncomfortable. Mr Schue had totally failed to assert his authority and stop the ridiculing of Rachel's perfectionist tendencies; it was almost as if he enjoyed her discomfort. Rachel was gradually retreating in on herself, becoming less animated and less vocal as the rehearsal progressed, until she sat stony-faced and slightly hunched under the onslaught of remarks. It was as if everyone just wanted an excuse to have a go at Rachel. Quinn was relieved but incredibly jealous when she spotted Tina make a comforting gesture to Rachel. Tina caught Quinn's eye but this time defiantly continued to squeeze Rachel's hand.

"I'm fine, Tina, honestly," whispered Rachel, her wavering voice belying her words. Tina was unsure what more to do, so she held on to Rachel's hand feeling helpless but partially responsible for this mess.

Finally the rehearsal ended and Rachel made sure she wasn't one of the first to leave. She made a dignified exit, counting in her head to help keep an even and measured pace rather than running from the room. She realised she'd never make it to her car in time, so quickly headed into the Girls Bathroom. She just made it to the paper towel dispenser in time before she burst into tears. She didn't even try to work out why she was so upset, she just let go. She stiffened as she heard the door open behind her.

Rachel glanced into the mirror uncertain how to feel as Quinn entered the room. She was still dabbing her eyes with a paper towel as she turned to face Quinn. Quinn took an involuntary pace forward her arms beginning to outstretch towards Rachel wanting to offer her comfort. Rachel stumbled back, keeping her distance, not sure she could yet trust herself close to Quinn. Quinn was looking as stunning as ever, not a hair out of place and those striking hazel eyes gazing at her intently. Suddenly the memory of Quinn leaning in to kiss her flooded her brain and a wave of longing, or was it regret, washed over her. Rachel grasped the sink behind her to help her combat her weak knees.

"Quinn, how can I help you?" she asked in her most business-like voice. Shame she sounded like she had a bad cold thanks to all the crying.

Quinn's mouth was dry and her heart hammering in her chest. Rachel was achingly beautiful even when crying. She hadn't really thought about what to say, she'd just followed her instincts when she'd spotted Rachel making a beeline for the bathroom. She wanted to reach out and brush away the tears on Rachel's cheeks with her fingertips or lean forward and press her lips to that furrowed brow. They eyed each other warily and the tension between them slowly built up. The sound of their breathing seemed to resonate around the bathroom. Something had to give.

Finally Quinn drew in a shaky breath and managed to blurt out in a croaky voice, "Can we talk?" and on experiencing a rising panic that Rachel might refuse she threw in a desperate but heartfelt "Please?"


	18. Chapter 18

**Thanks to everyone who spared the time to write a review, it really does brighten my day ;) Thanks to shinigami9x for beta-ing - you're a star!**

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><p>Rachel gazed at Quinn, her heart pounding. She waved her hand vaguely about in the air trying to indicate that Quinn could talk. She'd been desperate for Quinn to talk to her and, now that the moment was here, she found herself wishing she had the weekend to sort her feelings out. She'd been on an emotional roller coaster this week and probably wasn't in the best frame of mind to deal with any more angst. Well, her legs weren't going to be taking her anywhere and such was the adrenalin rush round her system that she didn't trust herself to speak. She could almost feel the intensity of Quinn's gaze and was doing her best to match it.<p>

Heavy breathing was the sole content of their conversational exchange for the moment. Quinn's mind raced to find a starting point while Rachel began rapidly dismissing in her head everything she'd thought she'd say given this opportunity; nothing seemed to fit. Thank goodness Mercedes couldn't see her being speechless as no doubt that would provide yet another wide seam of humour at her expense. They continued to look at each other hoping the other would start the conversation.

The pounding of blood in Rachel's ears was beginning to lessen and breathing was becoming easier. She licked her dry lips in preparation to speak and watched fascinated as a pink tinge infused Quinn's cheeks. An errant tear began to make its way down her cheek, only to be swept up on Quinn's finger as she stepped forward without thinking to wipe it away. The words on the tip of Rachel's tongue disappeared as her mind focussed on her close proximity to Quinn and how the air between them seemed to hum with electricity. Okay, so maybe her science teacher would take exception to that description, but how else could she describe her body's awareness of the closeness of Quinn?

Quinn couldn't step away from Rachel, and was battling with herself not to move any closer. Rachel's watery dark eyes just made her look so vulnerable and Quinn was desperate to offer comfort. She drew in a shaky breath as she struggled to assemble coherent thoughts over the sound of her inner voice screaming 'Kiss her! You know you want to.' Involuntarily, her eyes refocused on Rachel's lips just at the moment that Rachel chose to wet them. Quinn repressed a moan. They were so close, just a slight lean forward and their lips would meet. Perhaps actions would speak louder than words, particularly when words were proving so elusive. Rachel's eyes were boring into hers and they shared a few more shaky breaths. Did Rachel's eyes just briefly flicker to her lips? Should she seize the moment? Could she survive another rejection?

The tension was broken by Rachel's phone playing 'Hot 'n Cold'. She'd only just changed the ringtone so it took her a moment to connect the dots.

"It's Tina," croaked Rachel, clearing her throat as she raised the phone to her ear.

Quinn stepped back out of the danger zone to allow Rachel space to speak. She watched as Rachel drew herself up to her full 'five feet very little' and, with a warm and happy voice, she proceeded to tell Tina she 'was perfectly fine, thanks for asking' and that 'although it was a thoughtful and kind invitation, she thought a quiet night in might be what she needed'. Rachel listened for a bit, then laughingly replied that most of Glee club were amateurs when it came to picking on her and no match for the resilience she had learned by topping the bitchy Cheerios hit list for however many years it was. Not to mention the Cro-Magnon jocks. Quinn looked at her feet feeling ashamed that she had been the one ensuring Rachel topped the Cheerios' list whereas the jocks lack of leadership and imagination meant they just followed the Cheerios' lead.

"Oh, I don't know, Tina. In the extremely unlikely event I receive a critically damning review for a future performance of mine, at least I know I won't fall to pieces, thanks to my high school experiences," Rachel said brightly. She listened carefully, and then laughed again.

"Although I do have a list already prepared for my first acceptance speech, I can assure sure you that I'll only be recognising positive influences." There was a pause before she said to Tina with a flirtatious tone, "You'll just have to play your cards right. I'm sure you can win me over." Rachel spotted Quinn scowling. "Anyway, I must dash. Thanks for calling." And with that silence descended once again.

"You do realise Tina's seeing Mike in secret." Quinn couldn't stop her jealous self from blurting.

Rachel hadn't had a clear idea of what she expected Quinn to say, but it certainly hadn't been that. She gave Quinn a puzzled look.

"Not really secret, judging by the amount of tonsil tennis they engage in around school," mused Rachel before venturing "I think they make a sweet couple." It was Quinn's turn to look confused as Rachel eyed her with amusement. A kernel of an idea began to form.

"You didn't think that Tina and I were..." asked Rachel curiously, waving a hand in the air rather than finishing the end of that ridiculous sentence. She reined in her amusement as she watched Quinn squirm.

"No. Of course not. Don't be silly. Never crossed my mind," replied Quinn indignantly as she blushed furiously. Rachel fought the urge to laugh; Quinn seemed to think of her as some kind of femme fatale luring in both Mercedes and Tina with her womanly charms - as if.

Quinn turned to the sink to splash water on her face, relieved that there wasn't a hiss of steam as the cold water touched her cheeks. Rachel watched with sympathy and handed her a paper towel. Silence had returned.

"I don't think..." Quinn started as Rachel simultaneously blurted, "You need to know..." They both stopped and looked at each other. Quinn indicated Rachel should continue. Rachel swallowed nervously and then drew in a deep breath.

"I just want you to know that, well, it was never my intention - or Mercedes's, really - to hurt you. We were being thoughtless rather than vindictive." Rachel's voice tailed off. There was so much more she had wanted to say, but she was incredibly sleep deprived and that sentence went to the very heart of everything. Quinn needed to know she would never try to deliberately hurt her.

"I do realise that now," commented Quinn with a half smile. "Although Mercedes's motives are more suspect as she seems rather intent on hurting you."

"Mercedes is weighed down by the chip on her shoulder. I'll shortly cease to be any fun to pick on, and then the topic will only re-emerge every time we disagree," Rachel stated matter of factly, shrugging off Mercedes's perceived hostility as of little consequence.

"Daily then," quipped Quinn with a small smile.

"I'm a big girl, I can handle it." A rather petite looking Rachel grinned, placing her hands on her hips in a parody of Quinn's HBIC pose. "Perhaps I just need a little more practise or some tips." She laughed, raising her eyebrows at Quinn.

"It's all in the height." Quinn smirked, assuming the pose, amused at Rachel's mock outrage. She quickly became serious. "You shouldn't have to put up with Mercedes having a go," she said. "Just tell her what really happened." Quinn finally managed to say what she needed to, and she managed to do it without flinching. She was sure her trepidation didn't show on her face. Rachel looked at her thoughtfully.

"Quinn, it's a kind thought, but you and I both know that the thing you prize most highly is your reputation. As soon as it becomes common knowledge you were out with me, your reputation will take a drastic nosedive," Rachel said gently.

Quinn could hardly deny the truth of that statement, as she'd been worrying about just that ever since Rachel had revealed the bet to her.

"You couldn't bring yourself to tell Mercedes and I'm not going to," Rachel added softly.

"We just need to tell Mercedes in secret..." Quinn tentatively proposed as a compromise position, hating how pathetic she sounded.

Rachel laughed a little bitterly. Rachel had already noted Quinn wasn't denying the truth of what she was saying.

"Take it from me, there are no such thing as secrets," she said wistfully before snapping back to serious mode. "Also it'll be ten times worse if everyone knows you tried to hide it, just the appearance of being ashamed of being friends with me will damn you."

"Well, maybe I could just - perhaps - sort of mention us spending some time together." Quinn tailed off. She could just 'sort of mention' something that she could hardly bring herself to say when it was just her and Rachel? Who was she fooling? Rachel was looking sympathetically at her; it made Quinn feel so much worse.

"Accidentally went out with me four times?" Rachel laughed. "Quinn, be realistic. You've worked hard to rebuild your status after Beth. Why lose it all in some misguided attempt to protect me from Mercedes?"

"It shouldn't matter who we spend time with," whined Quinn unable to explain why she wanted to protect Rachel when this whole conversation seemed to be about Rachel protecting her - or at least her fragile reputation.

"But it does if you care about what others think. Spending time with me, the obnoxiously loud, driven, selfish and socially inept diva must mean..." Rachel began.

"You're none of those things," cut in Quinn angrily. How dare Rachel put herself down. She noted Rachel's surprised - or was that a slightly alarmed expression. "Well, maybe a bit driven," she conceded in an attempt to lighten things with a bit of humour. Rachel's grin was all the reward she needed. "It shouldn't matter," she repeated, unsure whom she thought she was trying to persuade.

"High school politics say otherwise," stated Rachel. "The labels once assigned can't be removed. My reputation for appalling taste in clothes continues despite an entirely new, and I'd like to think tasteful, wardrobe. The difference between you and me is that I don't care and you do."

"You sobbing in the bathroom being proof of how little you care," snapped Quinn slightly peeved that her reputation-driven motivations were so abundantly apparent to all.

Rachel sighed. "I don't care, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt," she explained. She paused. There was no need to start down the woe-is-me road. "The bet, or challenge, was a stupid, thoughtless act that I can't undo, but I can minimise the impact of it by making out it never really happened. Your status remains untroubled and possibly your reputation for being untouchable is slightly enhanced." Rachel smiled at her. "Think of it as my apology."

"But we did go out," Quinn protested. Was it really so easy for Rachel to wipe their time together from her memories?

"No one ever needs to know that. Just forget it ever happened," Rachel asserted, knowing she wouldn't be forgetting any time soon.

"I'm not sure I can easily erase from my mind your performance on stage with the auburn anteaters," ventured Quinn wistfully. She had a frequently watched video to ensure she wouldn't.

"Ginger aardvarks," corrected Rachel with a grin.

"Or the idea that Shirley Temple tap dancing impressions were your forte at a young age," teased Quinn, pleased to see a blush appear on Rachel's cheeks. Wasn't there home movie footage of that event? Would Quinn ever get the chance to see it?

"You can talk, I was doing an impression, you apparently actually believed you could fly," retorted Rachel smiling affectionately at Quinn. Quinn felt her heart tighten in her chest.

"Then there's your sterling early anti fur campaign - ketchup bring symbolic of the blood spilt," replied Quinn, grinning back.

"Thanks, but I think your youthful agnostic work was far more ambitious. Shouting 'who made God?' during the creationist story to a packed church of evangelical Christians shows remarkable courage," responded Rachel as an image of an inquisitive angelic-looking Quinn being dragged out of church popped up in her mind.

They grinned at each other.

"I really enjoyed exploring the relationship between postmodern discourses and urban spaces with you. And meeting your Uncle John," said Quinn softly.

"He really liked you too." Rachel paused as she realised she needed to speak to him soon. "I didn't think star gazing could be as much fun as it was, and I never would have known had I not wanted to impress you," replied Rachel in an equally quiet tone.

"Once the perfect observation point was located, that is. Stumbling about on a darkened hillside wasn't a promising start, but the views were amazing," reminisced Quinn before adding, "As were your cookies." She paused again" Shame I didn't get to see.."

"Quinn!" exclaimed Rachel clamping her hand over Quinn's mouth. She suddenly realised how intimate the gesture was so quickly moved her hand away. Quinn smirked at her, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Hmm, star gazing," muttered Quinn as she thought about lying in a dark field, looking up at millions of stars and, more amazingly, holding Rachel's hand in hers. "Some lovely memories" mused Quinn.

Rachel hmm-ed, recalling Quinn fangirling over her once she'd finished performing at that gig. How fabulous would it be to always have Quinn waiting for her when she exited the stage, unable to keep her hands off her or to stop telling her how wonderful she was? They'd need to live near the theatre so she could take full physical advantage of that adoration. Rachel's thoughts stopped abruptly in their tracks. Here she was daydreaming about being ravished by an awe-struck Quinn whilst in the midst of a 'why we can't be friends' conversation. Back to earth with a bump.

"Perhaps we could be friends away from school," Quinn suggested tentatively. They had a connection that needed exploring.

"I'm not prepared to be your secret friend, Quinn," replied Rachel sadly before softening her remark with "Besides, there's only a limited number of places we could go without the risk of being seen and I'm sure star gazing would eventually lose its appeal." Quinn honestly didn't think it would because there was so much more to do than just hold hands in a darkened field. She refocused on Rachel as Rachel added, "You'd always be worried someone would see us and, frankly, I think I deserve better."

Quinn bit her lip to hold back declarations of how much better than her Rachel deserved.

"Maybe, well, not secret friends then. We could just be like proper friends. Rach, you and me, we have fun together." Quinn tried to keep a begging tone out of her voice.

"Proper friends?" queried Rachel. Was Quinn actually suggesting...

"Hanging around together at school and... stuff," Quinn stumbled through her reply suddenly realising the magnitude of what she was proposing. Was she ready to publicly demonstrate her liking for Rachel?

"How many slushies and insults would it take for you to no longer consider it fun? How many snide remarks from Santana or ridicule from the Cheerios or being pushed into lockers and locked in cupboards by jocks before it ceases to be fun?" Rachel's tone was serious and measured.

"That doesn't happen that much to Tina and Mercedes," replied Quinn her heart beginning to race at the thought that Rachel hadn't said no to the idea.

"They're not _Quinn Fabray_. They don't really care about their social standing, they don't have a family name that means something in this town, they don't care about Prom Queen and all the other school measurements of success that your parents, and you, put such store in. They don't have so far to fall." Rachel cut off the rest of the long list she had in her head. She made sure she had eye contact with Quinn, then added "Almost the entire student body revelled in your spectacular fall from grace with your pregnancy, positively enjoying your anguish, but you defied expectations and fought your way back up the food chain. You're not going to be given a second chance. Hang out with the loser of all losers and that'll be it."

Secretly Rachel wanted Quinn to choose her but her rational self was busy telling her to get a grip. In what universe was her friendship worth braving the entire school's approbation for?

"But I really like you," whispered Quinn biting back the 'more than I've ever liked anybody else'.

"And I really like you too," replied Rachel. Quinn felt her spirits soar and her pulse go into overdrive. "But, and it's a big but, you're not ready for the consequences of being associated with me." Rachel stepped closer to Quinn and placed her hand on Quinn's chest. "And you know it, deep down."

She fought hard to keep her hand flat rather than grabbing a fistful of Quinn's shirt and pulling her closer? Quinn could feel the thundering of her own heart and wondered whether Rachel had noticed the dramatic increase in her heart rate caused by the touch. She threw caution to the wind and pulled Rachel into a tight hug. She wrapped her arms around her shoulders, feeling relief when Rachel finally relaxed into the hug.

Rachel pulled Quinn closer, with her arms round her waist, and snuggled into Quinn's neck. Better make the most of this one off opportunity, she told herself as she inhaled a slightly floral scent.

Quinn rested her chin on Rachel's head and fought back tears. She was angry with herself that Rachel was right: she didn't have the strength to befriend her openly and face the sneering disapproval of their peers. She pushed the negative thoughts aside to focus on the contentment and warmth she felt right now, hugging Rachel. It just felt so right and Rachel was just as huggable as she looked.

They stood in silence, just enjoying being held by each other. Rachel was trying to impress all the sensation into her memory, although she doubted the feel of Quinn pressed tightly against her was something she'd ever be able to forget. Quinn began to stroke her back with what she hoped were soothing movements as she could feel dampness on her neck from Rachel's tears and a slight trembling in her body. _Fabray pride, yet another blessing from her parents,_ she thought bitterly, _sufficiently ingrained to make the nature-or-nurture argument a moot point_. Rachel held her tighter then, with one final squeeze and a deep breath, she reluctantly pulled away.

"So back to normal tomorrow then," said Rachel shakily as she tried to stem the flow of tears down her cheeks. What was normal for them now?

Quinn felt as if her heart was breaking. She needed to do something right now.

" I... We..." Quinn couldn't force any words out of her mouth. Her lip trembled and then she suddenly burst into tears. She ran out of the bathroom, mortified at her weakness. She rushed towards her car, uncertain where to head. No one to talk to and nowhere to go – how had her life come to this?

Rachel was unsure what to make of Quinn's sudden and dramatic exit. Did it mean there was a slither of hope for them as friends? Dare she believe that? The rational part of her brain was busy pointing out all the flaws in that train of thought. A comforting hug in the bathroom of a deserted school building was hardly effective preparation for the scorn and derision that would be visited upon them should Quinn dare to show signs of friendship towards her. Quinn being almost unable to even voice the idea of being friends was hardly a firm foundation to build on. The ex-Cheerio's tears were just frustration at not being able to get her own way rather than an indication of holding Rachel in any esteem; she would be foolish to think otherwise.

Rachel sighed at herself in the mirror. This was definitely a week that just needed to be over. How was she going to escape her Dads' notice with a tear-swollen face? Maybe she should take up Tina's offer and begin the task of preparing herself for being Quinn-free for what little time was left of her school career. Tina could be easily fooled with some excuse about practising singing Barbra's more emotionally-draining back-catalogue, and maybe talking about Mike would distract her from pinning over Quinn. She stopped herself thinking about who Quinn could turn to – she needed to worry about herself and not about Quinn.

Once she felt sufficiently calm she pulled out her phone and rang Tina.

"Hi, Tina. I was just wondering if your offer for tonight was still open?"


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry, time just ran away from me... Thanks, as ever, to the reviewers and shinigami9x for betaing**

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><p>Quinn was tired before the school day even started. Last night she had decided to run round the park, partly to distract her from her talk with Rachel, partly to squeeze in some preparation for the half marathon that she'd foolishly entered herself for. Saturday loomed large on the horizon and she hadn't really taken the time to worry about it. She'd been far too embroiled in her own emotional dramas - certainly not a preparation tactic she cared to repeat should she ever enter another half marathon. Running as a distraction tactic had been rather useless as her usual chanting of one-two, one-two, one-two as she paced had been replaced with a Rach-el, Rach-el, Rach-el.<p>

In bed she had allowed herself to relive their conversation again, looking for how it could have gone differently – all to no avail. She had then taken a different approach and tried to think of ways of raising Rachel's status at school so that them being friends wouldn't be so problematic.

In the cold light of morning, though, it was obvious that arranging for the Ginger Aardvarks to do a gig at school so that the entire student body could admire Rachel's talent was preposterous. Never mind if the band would even agree or Rachel would be prepared to perform, the reality was that most students had seen Rachel perform and her singing brilliance made no difference to her status as a school loser. In all likelihood, it was the fact that Rachel was so phenomenally talented that ensured she stayed bottom of the hierarchy. Plain jealousy.

Quinn's next plan had been to pressure Santana into ensuring the Cheerios backed off targeting Rachel. This had been a far more complicated plan since Santana was the very opposite of cooperative. The idea of trying to explain to Santana why she needed to call the dogs off Rachel was almost physically painful; Santana was brutally coarse and harsh in her words at the best of times. Quinn wasn't sure showing Santana any sign of weakness on her part was a good idea. She had considered threatening to re-join the Cheerios to keep Santana cooperative before realising she could leave Santana out of the entire equation by re-joining the Cheerios and exerting her influence directly. She quickly dismissed this as an extremely foolish idea; she had no wish to be at the mercy of Sue Sylvester again, never mind having to deal with all that competitive bitchy backstabbing.

Finally, she had considered trying to persuade the boys she knew on the football team to stand up for Rachel. The massive flaws with this plan were that, one, they hadn't been particularly effective at standing up for Kurt, and two, the boys she knew best on the football team tended to be ex-boyfriends so not particularly inclined to do her bidding, never mind the fact they already knew, maybe even liked Rachel but still were not inclined to stand up for her. Besides, even if they considered the idea, she didn't know how to answer the question of why she wanted them to do it. Some trite statement of "because it's the right thing to do" would cut no ice and there was no way she would be confessing to her attraction to Rachel or her desire to have a romantic relationship with her. So wasn't going to happen, ever.

As the night wore on and she lay wide-awake, frustrated and forlorn, her ideas became more extreme. Changing schools, running away together or learning a martial art to beat up anyone who dared to even look at Rachel the wrong way were quickly dismissed. She was no karate kid although maybe Rachel was a Pilates kid? Rachel's standing at school could only be changed by something extremely drastic and Quinn couldn't for the life of her work out a suitable scenario to facilitate that.

She finally drifted off to sleep shortly after she'd had the realisation that Rachel had no wish to change her status and that the person with the problem was actually herself. She wasn't trying to change Rachel's popularity to make Rachel's life better – although undoubtedly it would – rather she was seeking to change Rachel's status for her own benefit. She was the one with the problem of being seen associating with a loser. It was hard to see a way around that.

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><p>Quinn strode down the corridor towards her locker counting the hours until the weekend officially began. As she rounded the corner, a radiant Rachel rummaging in her locker came into view. Quinn felt her heart race and her breathing quicken as she absorbed the details of the vision in front of her. She'd forgotten the glossy hair and just how shapely that rear was. Her view was suddenly blocked as a bulky football-player holding a slushy stepped between her and Rachel with a rather predatory grin on his face. Quinn felt a wave of irritation. Without pausing for thought, she grabbed the slushy-holding hand and tipped the drink on the floor, ignoring the yell of dismay.<p>

"Grow up, for goodness sake!" she snarled at the bewildered jock as she passed him. In her peripheral vision she noted the surprised look on Rachel's face as her ears registered the ineffective splutterings of the now embarrassed jock. Quinn continued on to her locker ignoring the commotion around her. How many more minutes before she could go home and catch up on the sleep she'd missed? Or at least lie on her bed staring at the ceiling trying to remember the sensations of Rachel's warm, toned body pressed against hers.

Rachel was wishing the day away too. The week had been long and emotionally gruelling. She needed to escape thinking about McKinley High. Tina had proved a little more perceptive than Rachel had anticipated, so last night she'd had to field off Tina's probing questions about her interactions with Quinn. This was all triggered by some conversation Quinn had had with Tina threatening undefined horrors if she hurt Rachel. Rachel had been touched and slightly alarmed by Quinn's gesture, but managed to project a puzzled air to Tina. No, she had absolutely no idea what that was about other than Quinn being her usual unfathomable self. Maybe Tina had misheard Quinn? She could tell Tina was unconvinced by her answers and maybe her distraction technique of feigned interest in Tina's relationship with Mike had been just a little over the top? Rachel had headed home earlier than intended to avoid Tina's continued Quinn queries.

She could feel Tina's gaze on her now that she was at school, and it all felt like yet another pressure she could do without. Rachel sighed; she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep her happy façade up. She dared a quick, surreptitious glance at Quinn and warmth spread through her as she remembered how it felt to be held in those arms and to snuggle into that neck. As her gaze returned back to her locker, she briefly caught Tina's curious look before her eyes flickered towards Quinn and then back to Rachel. Rachel sighed again; she really didn't need to be under Tina's intense scrutiny.

Quinn found herself drawn to Rachel despite her brain shouting at her that distance was the best strategy, literally and figuratively. She felt unable to tear her eyes away from the tanned beauty, taking in the tight figure-hugging top with a V-neck that hinted at the delights constrained beneath it. "Breathe," she instructed her lungs. Her eyes moved down to those gloriously long, shapely legs. During the classes she shared with Rachel, she spent her time gazing wistfully at the object of her affections, scrutinising those wonderfully full lips and castigating herself for not seizing the opportunity to kiss them when it had arisen. What kind of a wuss was she? Quinn was distracted momentarily with kicking Trixie's chair when the Cheerio was poised to flick ink-soaked bits of paper at Rachel. Trixie turned to scowl at her; paling slightly at the malevolent glare directed her way.

"Go on, just give me a reason," hissed Quinn, flexing her fingers menacingly. Trixie feigned indifference, but pushed the inky papers pieces to the floor. Quinn Fabray wasn't known for her pussycat qualities. You hardly got to be Cheerios' Captain through consideration for the feelings of others, and her punishments when in charge indicated a ruthless vindictiveness that she certainly didn't need directed her way. So either Quinn had some personal beliefs that were offended by the flicking of inky pieces of paper or - Trixie felt a twinge of pain from trying to connect thoughts in her head - or Quinn was protecting Freak face. Quinn Fabray protecting Manhands? Trixie shook her head, she must be missing something.

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><p>Just looking longingly from afar wasn't enough to sate her Rachel cravings so, as the day progressed, Quinn finally gave in to the overwhelming urge to just have some minuscule amount of contact. She began to find excuses to be close enough to Rachel to almost touch her. Her most successful manoeuvre was to walk past Rachel in the corridor extending her index finger so it ran along the bare skin of Rachel's tanned arm as they passed, both with their eyes firmly fixed ahead. Her heart raced at the touch and she was sure there was a shiver on Rachel's part, although she couldn't be sure, as she didn't dare look to check. As Rachel didn't challenge her about it and Quinn didn't waste any time pursuing the thought that Rachel really couldn't, she continued a surreptitious touching campaign, brushing hands when passing notes or placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder when moving past her. It was amazing how many times she had managed to initiate the briefest of touches without raising anyone's suspicions. It still wasn't enough to quell her longing for something more, and little scenarios of slamming the restroom door shut and pushing Rachel up against the wall whilst pressing their lips together and allowing her hands to roam over that taut little body were hardly helpful. Quinn felt she was walking about in a perpetually aroused but frustrated state - and this was day one of things allegedly going back to normal. What was normal where she and Rachel were concerned?<p>

Wanting to ravish Rachel every time she saw her was definitely a big improvement to hurling insults at her, even if it was personally far more energy zapping to be fighting off waves of lust rather than trying to conjure up new insults. Quinn firmly told herself yet again that even friendship was out of the question. Still, accidental contact never hurt anyone, right?

Rachel headed to the refectory, running through her interactions with Quinn in her mind. It certainly wasn't her sometimes overheated imagination; Quinn was finding ways to make her presence _felt._ The feather light touch of a finger or the fleeting glance of a hand on her shoulder. She definitely wasn't imagining it. She should be annoyed with Quinn - this wasn't how things were supposed to be - instead she was flattered, although a little worried for the health of her heart with all the racing and stopping it seemed to be doing. Seriously though, Quinn wasn't being fair and this had to stop. It was giving her hope when there wasn't any and so was hugely inconsiderate and cruel. She just wasn't sure how to communicate this message when they weren't actually talking to each other.

Rachel took her place at the Glee lunch table and tried to control the hitch in her breathing when Quinn sat down next to her. Right next to her. Thigh-touching-thigh next to her. Rachel dropped her head so her hair fell forward and hopefully covered some of the rising colour in her cheeks. From the corner of her eye she could detect the barest hint of a smirk on Quinn's face. It was definitely no accident; Quinn knew what she was doing and taking some kind of perverse pleasure from the teasing. Rachel laid out her lunchboxes on the table, wriggling just enough as she did so to ensure the exposure of Quinn's knee and a bit of lower thigh to daylight. _Two could play at this game, _Rachel thought as she relinquished the moral high ground she'd only briefly held. With her left hand she eventually popped a cherry tomato in her mouth, playing with it slightly more than she needed to once she realised Quinn's eyes were firmly fixed on her lips. Holding it to her lips as if she was kissing it definitely elicited a blush on the cheeks of the girl next to her. Rachel moved on to her actual plan, which was to run her right hand down her thigh, little finger extended so she had contact with Quinn's thigh all the way. She rested her hand on her knee and started to trace out little circles with the same finger on Quinn's knee. She could almost feel the effort Quinn was making to control her breathing and was amazed that she could cause such a response. Her sudden awareness of Tina watching her like a hawk curtailed her Quinn teasing activities just as Mercedes started yet again on her favourite topic, this time under the guise of 'reflecting on what new experiences we've had this week' - all said with a grin at Rachel.

Okay, Mercedes had had her fun, but now this was becoming all a bit too tedious. Rachel delved into her bag before placing two sheets of paper, covered in small neat handwriting and highlighted in various shades, on the table in front of her.

"Look, Mercedes, if you're going to point out when you were right and I was wrong, it seems only fair and equitable that I should do the same." Rachel pulled two more pages out of her bag and made a show of smoothing them out on top of the previous papers. "So, in the spirit of self-improvement and of us growing and learning from our mistakes, I've taken the liberty of recording the incidents when I was in fact right and you were wrong." She paused to take in the horrified expression on Mercedes face. "I wasn't sure whether to just do this semester." Rachel rummaged in her bag before triumphantly pulling out another four sheets. "Or the whole academic year."

Rachel shuffled the papers for effect before holding them out to Mercedes. "This is in chronological order, but I colour-coded and cross-referenced by theme in case that helps. Pink is music related, dark pink is musical theatre through to light pink for pop, green is general misconceptions, yellow is…"

She was cut off by an indignant Mercedes who wheezed, huffed and puffed, then folded her arms across her chest and snapped," Oh, for goodness sake, Rachel, it was only a joke!"

There was a pause as all eyes round the table shifted from Mercedes back to a beaming Rachel.

"In that case," said Rachel sweetly, "surely this list is hilarious?"

Quinn coughed to smother the laughter fighting to escape from her throat as an awkward silence descended on the table. Kurt broke the tension with some innuendo-laced comment about the 'dish of the day'. Rachel seized the opportunity to put her notes back in her bag, relieved that no one intended to call her bluff but, in her haste to hide her writings, she accidentally let one sheet slip to the floor.

Quinn reached to pick it up and then, as her eyes focussed on the writing, she realised that, rather than being a list of Mercedes, what she was actually reading seemed to be an account of Barbra Streisand's early life - she hadn't realised Barbra had once been a singer in a gay bar. She looked up to observe a worried expression on Rachel's face. Did Rachel really have so little faith in her as to believe she would reveal her subterfuge?

"Thanks," said Rachel as she managed to brush her hand over Quinn's when she moved to take the sheet back. They stared at each other, both holding on to the paper, hands touching, as in the background Mercedes began to rant, without the faintest hint of irony, about how humourless people sucked the life out of those around them.

"No problem," muttered a dry-mouthed Quinn.

Their gazing at each other went unnoticed save for Tina, who was still uncertain how to process what her eyes were seeing. What was the weird vibe going on between those two? They were sitting pressed up next to each other despite there being plenty of space around the table and they were doing lots of staring at each other, but with minimal conversation and absolutely no smiling at all. Had Quinn moved into a more personal form of bullying stage, with Rachel too scared to tell anybody? Was Quinn's threat to her just about trying to isolate Rachel by making Tina wary of spending time with her? She promised herself not to let Rachel out of her sight, if at all possible. She had noticed something odd about Rachel and Quinn's interactions recently and had tried to ask Rachel about it last night. Rachel had been uncharacteristically shifty and evasive in her answers and her reluctance to meet Tina's eyes on her more vague answers was a definite indication of her lying. Tina glanced again at the pair of them studiously ignoring each other. Rachel looked tired and drained and there was a hint of red around the eyes. It was all becoming clear now: Quinn was intimidating Rachel and Rachel was too scared to tell anybody. Poor Rachel. Tina shifted uncomfortably on her seat as she realised that maybe she had inadvertently set this off with her "ask Rachel" mantra when Scary Quinn had cornered her. She had a responsibility to try and help Rachel.

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><p>The last few minutes of the final lesson of the day were crawling past agonisingly slowly as Rachel tapped her pencil impatiently on her closed book. She was undecided whether to confront Quinn about the pair of them... well, not quite managing to ignore each other. The problem was they'd need to be alone to have that full and frank discussion of why they needed to stop touching. However, Rachel wasn't convinced that she could be alone with Quinn and not touch her. Regular meetings to discuss why they couldn't be friends that ended in intense hugs were possibly self-defeating. One more minute, sixty longer than you'd think seconds, and she could go home and immerse herself in loud mind-numbing music. She glanced at the clock one last time and, as she did so, became aware that both Tina and Quinn were staring at her. She did a quick check of her buttons and zips relieved to find everything as it should be. The long awaited bell finally sounded but, before she could react, Tina was leaning over the desk towards her and insisting they talk.<p>

On the sound of the bell, Quinn was torn between relief that the school week was finally over and dismay that a long weekend free of any interaction with Rachel now lay ahead. She was halfway to her locker before she decided she needed to discuss with Rachel ..something.. oh yes, their being back to normal. It would give them a chance to lay down some ground rules and, more importantly, it would give her a chance for some badly needed Rachel interaction that might just help tide her over the weekend - she hardly dare hope for another hug. She headed back to the classroom, trying not to fixate on the idea of a hug. Quinn's hug hopes were crushed instantly at the sight that met her as she stepped back into the room. Tina had pulled up a chair to face Rachel across the desk. Tina's hands were wrapped around Rachel's and she was hugging them to her chest as she gazed intently into Rachel's eyes. Rachel's facial expression gave nothing away, so Quinn quickly tuned in to what was being said.

"I really care about you, Rachel," said Tina, sincerely hoping Rachel would now feel able to trust her.

Rachel looked at their hands, then at Tina, and then suddenly her eyes widened at whatever was behind Tina and she tried to pull her hands away from Tina's tight hold. Tina glanced back behind her and fear flooded her veins on glimpsing a scowling Quinn. She held resolutely onto Rachel's hands before turning defiantly to look Quinn in the eyes.

"Maybe, Quinn, you n..n..need to b...b..b..back off" Tina finally managed to spit out.

She dropped Rachel's hands and quickly stood as if to protect Rachel from Quinn, her arms crossed in front of her and head held high - her frequent nervous swallowing rather ruining the effect. Quinn was unsure whether to laugh, cry, shout, scream or slap someone, so she reverted back to tried and tested behaviour: when in doubt, run. She spun on her heel and stumbled out of the room, feeling as though she couldn't breathe. Her conversation with Rachel - was it only yesterday? - ran through her mind. Rachel hadn't denied being involved with Tina, she'd just laughed at the idea, leaving Quinn to draw her own, obviously incorrect, conclusions. It wasn't as if anyone could misinterpret what she'd just seen and Rachel guiltily trying to pull her hands away from Tina's only confirmed her worst fears.

Tina slumped into the chair opposite Rachel eyes fixed on the floor before finally finding the energy to raise her head to look at her. Rachel was unsure whether her borderline hysteria meant tears or laughter were imminent. She narrowed her focus to concentrate on Tina and cut off the rest of her swirling emotions and confused feelings. Rachel tried for a calm, approachable expression, and then gently laid her hand on top of Tina's. She leaned forward slightly before finally managing to find the words she needed.

"Tina, what exactly is it that you think is going on?" she asked quietly.

Tina took some deep breaths to try and calm her racing heart and enable her to speak.

"I.. It's.." Tina shook her head with frustration before throwing caution to the wind and just blurting, "I don't like Quinn intimidating you."

Rachel's startled expression wasn't enough to knock Tina off her stride

"She's always staring at you and trying to stop other students interacting with you whether by belittling you or them, and who knows how many people she has personally taken aside and threatened like she did to me?" Tina stated, watching as Rachel's eyebrows danced across her face in puzzlement, surprise and amusement. "I think she's trying to isolate you and you're too scared to tell anybody. I know I wield little influence in this school, and I'm probably not the person people would choose to have in their corner or even as their friend, but I like you, Rachel, and I want you to know you're not alone. I'm not sure what I can do other than be here for you."

Tina finally ran out of breath. Rachel squeezed her hand sympathetically

"I think you're a wonderful friend to have and I'm proud to be considered your friend," responded Rachel, clearing away the easy part of her response. "Things between Quinn and I are... complicated."

It was now Tina's turn to squeeze her hand reassuringly and Rachel immediately felt tears of frustration rush to her eyes. "But I can assure you, hand on heart, that Quinn is not intimidating or bullying me." She could see Tina was bursting with questions. "That's all I can tell you," she finished lamely before adding, "Just be a good enough friend to accept my word that I am fine, Quinn is not bullying me, and I really can't talk about things that concern more than me."

Tina looked at her carefully. "If you're sure..."

"I'm sure," replied Rachel with a reassuring grin before adding," Can I hug you?"

Tina stood up and pulled her into a quick, tight hug and then the smile faded from her face as she said worriedly, "I just told Quinn to back off."

Rachel patted her shoulder. "Not strictly true, I think you merely offered the suggestion." Tina seemed to gain little reassurance from Rachel's words. "Don't worry, I'll put in a plea of mercy on your behalf to Quinn." Rachel grinned, but Tina still looked unamused and rather worried. Rachel fought back the urge to tease an increasingly anxious looking Tina.

"Tina, don't worry, I'll sort it out," promised Rachel sincerely without the slightest clue of how she would accomplish said task.

Quinn had come to have a word with her although they'd agreed not to speak, seen her holding hands with Tina, heard Tina express her liking for Rachel - purely platonic but would Quinn realise that?- and then had rapidly rushed out of the room. Yesterday Quinn had intimated she and Tina were romantically involved, today she believed it. Now Rachel was promising to sort it all out when she and Quinn weren't even supposed to be communicating. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to send a text.

**Tina thinks you're bullying and intimidating me and decided to stand up to you. R**

She tried, she really did, not to wait excitedly for a reply, but she found herself unable to focus on anything else, obsessively checking her phone every few minutes. Finally a response arrived:

**You don't need to explain your friendships to me but glad you texted ;) Q**

Rachel smiled as she read the message. They were having misunderstanding and angst-free communication - definitely something for her to treasure.


	20. Chapter 20

**Apologies for the delay, now the story's finished in my head it's hard to find the enthusiasm to commit to paper. A solo effort this time so apologies for any errors. As ever massive thanks to all reviewers - honestly the end is nigh...**

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><p>Saturday morning found a still tired Quinn gazing at the ceiling of her bedroom trying to order a vast swirling mass of thoughts and feelings. The half marathon was happening today she just wasn't sure whether she'd be participating in it or not. She couldn't cry off on weather grounds judging by the blue sky and hints of sunshine she could see peeping through the gap in her curtains, so she'd need to come up with some other excuse. She was not as well rested as she would have liked and hence physical exertion was a bad idea - somehow that seemed a little pathetic. The repeated replaying of the scene of Tina hugging Rachel's hands to her and Rachel only trying to extricate herself once she was aware of Quinn's presence had kept her awake the previous evening. Then there was that 'Tina thinks you bully and intimidate me' text to decipher.<p>

Initially Quinn had wanted to slap her forehead and sneeringly text back 'how come it had taken Tina over two years to notice that she picked on Rachel?' but then a rather small voice in her head grudgingly allowed that practically sitting on top of Rachel at lunch whilst apparently ignoring her might, to the casual observer, be deemed intimidating. Particularly one with perception skills at the level of Tina's for goodness sake. The memory of Rachel running her finger down her thigh and then gently stroking her knee did suggest however that Rachel was far from intimidated. Quinn's smile was back every time she thought about that until her thoughts inevitably returned to her original quandary, just what was going on between Tina and Rachel? Quinn had tried for a light non-judgemental text in response and so had discarded any ideas that hinted or shouted at her intense insecurity and jealousy around Rachel interacting with anyone who wasn't her. She'd thrown in a 'thanks for texting' hoping to encourage a prolonged text conversation but Rachel hadn't replied so Quinn was left simmering in uncertainty, hurt and self-loathing. Rachel's text hadn't exactly been a denial had it?

As for wanting to challenge herself with a half marathon, well that had all faded as her mood had darkened. It had sounded noble and self-disciplined when she was talking to Rachel about it but now it just sounded an ill-thought out and silly idea. No-one cared whether she did it or not, no-one would be cheering her on or willing her to succeed; they'd be no-one sharing in her triumph if she finished or disappointment if she didn't and, more importantly, no-one to take her exhausted self home no matter what the outcome. Her not going would affect precisely no one. The only person she ran the risk of disappointing was herself and quite honestly she was rather used to letting herself down. Anyway who in their right mind would actually choose to put themselves through a half-marathon? She hadn't prepared properly - or rather she assumed she hadn't as she'd not researched how to prepare - and her original hope of breaking her two hour five minutes time limit seemed laughably optimistic. Her chances of even finishing seemed incredibly remote so was it even worth starting?

Quinn rolled on to her side to stare at her i-pod. So alternatives for the day then - she could spend part of the day ensuring she couldn't move for the rest of it or she could lie here wallowing in how miserable her life was and occasionally torture herself with a Rachel video or a couple of saved text messages. Neither seemed particularly inspiring. With a moan Quinn managed to roll herself out of bed and head for the bathroom. She had all day Sunday to repent at leisure about what could have been with Rachel so maybe a different focus was required for today. She'd paid her entrance fee for that damned race and a bit of fresh air would be good for her; besides maybe she'd be so exhausted she'd have a better night's sleep tonight? Lying on her bed hugging her pillow wishing it was Rachel was hardly the better option - just the less physically, but probably more emotionally, exhausting one.

* * *

><p>Quinn did her warm up stretches as she surreptitiously eyed up her fellow competitors with their professionally looking attire and array of running kit. Pedometers, nose strips and assorted running backpacks had led her to believe that maybe this was something a bit more serious than a fun run. Don't even start her on trainers as hers were obviously not up to scratch given the amused looks her all-purpose footwear were gaining. She was obviously the only person who hadn't thought about sunglasses and anyway her trendy big-lensed pair would have been out of place here amongst the face hugging reflective eyewear everyone else was sporting. Perhaps a bandana would have helped her look like a bit more of a serious contender as her shorts and vest top obviously weren't cutting it judging by the slightly disdainful glances she was receiving. In fact the only thing that distinguished her from some of the spectators as a runner was the fact she had a number pinned to her chest. She gazed down at it – 1729 – surely there weren't that many people participating? Was last better than saying 1729th? Was there even a placing for failing to finish? Enough stretching it was time for her start. She tucked her phone in her sock, only in the direst of emergencies would she be ringing anyone to pick her up however she couldn't quite bring herself to check it in with the rest of her belongings as she readied herself for the run. Too late for regrets, the amateur grouping she was in were assembled and ready for the off. Quinn was relieved that not everyone felt the need for a sprint start. She settled into a steady even pace and tried not to be intimidated by the number of people passing her. So far it wasn't as bad as she'd thought it would be - blue skies, not too hot and a few encouraging cheers from the smattering of spectators. <p>

Rachel reflected that she had played her hand admirably, as she parked her Dads truck near the park where the half marathon was starting and finishing. She had manoeuvred her Dads into agreeing to lend her the truck without having to reveal why she wanted it or where she was going – proving she had learnt _the art of using guilt to your advantage_ from her Dads. She had conceded that she wouldn't be going to her singing and dancing lessons but as this would be the first time she'd ever missed classes (unless you counted the time she was delirious with flu and hence unaware of even the existence of said classes until several days later) her Dads were unable to pile on the guilt. Her Dad was bursting with questions as she loaded her bicycle into the back of the truck and then pulled a baseball cap down low over her eyes. The rebel effect she was cultivating was rather ruined by her having to return to the house to fetch cushions so she could see over, rather than through, the steering wheel but she held her head high and feigned indifference to their obvious amusement.

She had the route of the run superimposed on a map on her iPhone and had carefully calculated ideal spots to watch the runners allowing time to cycle between different points on the running route and factoring in time for locking and unlocking her bike, finding an ideal vantage point and an extra five per cent of time for unforeseen delays. Cycle routes between her chosen spots were also uploaded on her phone along with a suitable playlist that mixed the themes of running and insanity – a bit like running a half –marathon did. She was ready to observe Quinn from afar she just needed to find out Quinn's number, her starting time was apparent from the age related amateur categories she'd found on the website. Thank goodness half marathons weren't a popular event in the locality otherwise Quinn's complete reticence on providing pertinent information about this run would have made watching her impossible. Anyway she was here to observe unseen. The jeans and loose hoodie topped off with a baseball cap combined with sunglasses that covered over half of her face meant even her Grandma would struggle to recognise her – and her Grandma was whom she'd inherited her psychic powers from. Rachel hopped out of the truck yet again surprised at the distance from the seat to the ground. If she wasn't obviously destined for stardom on the stage she might well have considered a career in Logistics – she definitely had the attention to detail and people management skills such a career required. She consulted her phone, checked the time and cycled off to her first viewpoint.

* * *

><p>Quinn was beginning to recognise the disadvantages of a lack of careful planning. She felt slightly hungry and although she was making sure she was keeping hydrated she could feel her blood sugar levels beginning to drop – so much for the slow release energy of her oatmeal breakfast. Her pace was still steady but now she was beginning to feel the start of a blister on her left foot and the sun was starting to hurt her eyes. The inner voice saying this was a stupid way to spend her time and she could stop at any point was growing louder in her head. She tried to drown it out by focusing on happy memories and when that proved a rather short list, Quinn began to recall all the various songs she'd ever heard Rachel sing. Her inner voice was temporarily drowned out in an eclectic mix of Barbra, pop and musicals.<p>

Rachel was intently scanning the runners as they passed whilst idly wondering where the phrase of 'like riding a bike' came from to suggest an unforgettable skill. 'like driving a car' would be more accurate she decided having initially wobbled her way on her bike, slipping through gears and becoming precariously close to being unseated. Her musings were cut short as a flushed and slightly sweaty looking Quinn finally came into view. Rachel's heart raced excitedly as her head concluded that flushed and sweaty was also a good look on Quinn just like all the other looks of happy, sad, angry, disappointed and smug . She was simultaneously relieved and disappointed that Quinn didn't see her although that had been the whole point of her disguise surely? Rachel took the time to admire the well defined pale legs, the slightly muscular arms, the elegant neck and finally that delightfully full and firm rear as Quinn passed. The five percent of time she'd factored in for unforeseen delays was rapidly turning into swoon time. Definitely worth missing a singing lesson for, should the choice of improving her vocal talents or admiring Quinn's rear ever occur again.

As Rachel's cycling skills were improving Quinn's running skills were deteriorating. What started as a dull ache in her calves was slowly transforming into a burning sensation. It was becoming harder to suck in enough air to meet her body's need for oxygen with the result that her breathing was becoming laboured. Her face felt hot and the feeling of damp hair plastered to her head was not something she cared to repeat anytime soon. Her focus was on trying to put one foot in front of the other whilst simultaneously breathing. Who knew multitasking could be so difficult? Quinn knew she was slowing down, the only question was whether she would hit stationary before or after the end of the race. Her thoughts diverted into a how good it would feel if she just stopped and by the time she reached the next watering station she was ready to give up. She tipped a cup of water over her head and bent over resting her hands on her knees desperately trying to breathe. She knew theoretically that standing up and placing her hands on her head would enable her to breathe in more air but assumed the need to bend over and pratically curl up into a ball was probably about wanting comfort. Perhaps she was more delerious than she thought as she could distinctly hear Rachel's voice encouraging her to continue, that in fact she'd run most of the distance and was almost there with only 3 miles left to go. Three miles, it might as well be a million judging by the jellylike state of her legs.

"Cone on Fabray, move your lovely derriere. I haven't forsaken singing classes just to watch you duck out" Quinn's eyes snapped up to scan the small crowd. She wasn't imagining it, that was definitely Rachel's voice. There was no chance her imagination would have conjured up'derriere' or 'forsaken'. She searched the crowd more carefully, there was no way Rachel could disguise her height. She stared at a rather old-looking short woman - surely even with all her knowledge of theatrical make-up techniques Rachel wouldn't be able to age herself by about sixty years? She caught a movement in the corner of her eye and found herself staring at a rather mismatched combination of fashionable sunglasses and tatty old baseball cap. The big grin was unmistakable. Her heart flipped.

" Meet you at the next watering hole" Rachel promised as she dived away through the crowd. Quinn groaned but started to stretch as a prelude to at least jogging to the next refreshment point. She wanted to talk to Rachel about Tina and to be able to read her facial expressions when she did so. She reluctantly set off surprised to find breathing a little easier after her brief stop. She was too busy trying to work out what she wanted to ask Rachel to be able to spare any thought for her protesting legs. Trust Rachel to be able to find her in the midst of hundreds of runners at just the moment when she was at her worst. Quinn smiled pleased that Rachel had made the effort to .. well, support her. There was no option of dropping out now, she didn't want Rachel to view her as a quitter. Thoughts of Rachel gave way to just where was the next damned water stop until finally the welcome sight of Rachel leaning against a bicycle and standing by a table festooned with cups of water came into view. Quinn could feel a new surge of energy and the grin on her face widening.

" You're doing fabulously" enthused a beaming Rachel holding out a plastic cup of water. Quinn could only manage a nod, jogging and breathing was okay but speaking was just a step too far

" Next stop the finish line. I'm looking forward to seeing you there" added Rachel removing her sunglasses to give Quinn an exaggerated wink as she passed her. Rachel had yet another chance to admire that rear, so deliciously rotund.

Rachel checked her route to the finish before setting off. Okay she hadn't managed the supporting from afar but her outfit was enough to ensure no one recognised her - not that she'd seen anyone from school- and besides Quinn had needed just that extra bit of encouragement. Rachel couldn't help but feel proud that she had persuaded to Quinn to keep going - the fact that Quinn listened to and was influenced by her was heart warming but really their interaction needed to stop. After this run had finished the pair of them would need to work on ignoring each other as so far they hadn't been very effective at it. So after this race she'd clarify the Tina misunderstanding, not that she needed to as it didn't matter but she would because she could, then she'd reiterate why they couldn't be friends and maybe this time issue Quinn with clearer instructions about what that meant in terms of absolutely no touching. With that sorted out in her head Rachel focused her efforts on her cycling. There would potentially be a large crowd at the finish so the sooner she arrived to find a vantage point the better.

Quinn felt relief rather than any sense of accomplishment or euphoria when the finish line finally came into view, or what she assumed was the finish line judging by the crowd and people wearing badges and wielding clipboards. Her current jogging speed was barely faster than her usual brisk walking speed but she didn't care. She finally made it over the finish line and on spotting Rachel allowed herself to collapse into her arms fighting the urge to cry with relief that the torture was finally over. Quinn was desperate to collapse on the floor but Rachel was insisting she walk about and stretch as well as put on the slightly small hoodie that Rachel had been wearing. She was disappointed, but not surprised, to note the absence of a 'TeamQuinn' t-shirt. Quinn's arm was draped over Rachel's shoulders as she reluctantly walked about as instructed and Rachel helped hold her up with an arm round her waist. Rachel handed her a packet of energy gel from her bag followed by a bottle of energy drink which Quinn quickly consumed only half paying attention to Rachel gushing about how proud she was of her and what mental stamina she had shown. Next Rachel was pressing a banana in her hand and talking about post-run wind-down research she had done. How typically Rachel. Quinn could finally muster up the energy to speak

"Thanks for coming, I don't think I'd nave finished if I hadn't known you were skipping singing classes to watch me run" Quinn mumbled. Rachel looked slightly embarrassed - it hadn't been her best pep talk ever but at least Quinn seemed to have missed the lovely derriere remark. Rachel allowed her hand to slip slightly from Quinn's waist so her fingers were in contact with a firm short-clad buttock. It wasn't as if she was likely to get another opportunity she told herself, feeling slightly guilty about taking advantage of a rather tired Quinn

" You really should stretch" Rachel advised trying for a light and not too bossy tone. Quinn disentangled herself from Rachel and began to cycle through her stretches.

" I shouldn't have come..." started Rachel

"I'm glad you did" smiled Quinn as she leant on Rachel's shoulder to balance as she stretched her quads.

"I just wanted you to know that there's nothing beyond friendship going on with Tina and me" Rachel added taking advantage of their close proximity to ensure she had Quinn's full attention. She felt Quinn's grip tighten momentarily on her shoulder at the mention of Tina.

"Didn't think there was" replied Quinn averting her eyes and then adding," None of my concern anyway" as she dropped her hand from Rachel's shoulder and turned away slightly to avoid Rachel's scrutiny.

" Um yes well we need to have a conversation about not being friends and how we are at.." Rachel's attempt to broach the difficult subject was interrupted by Quinn's sudden yelp of pain and her clutching her leg.

"Cramp" She managed to gasp out

"Lie down and give me your leg" instructed Rachel as she knelt at the foot of Quinn and began to extend and stretch the leg before starting to massage the calf that Quinn had been clutching. She didn't like seeing Quinn in pain. After focussing intently on the job in hand she finally managed to find the courage to raise the topic about how they interacted with each other.

"Look, ignoring each other means no touching, accidental or otherwise," explained Rachel as she skillfully kneaded the muscle in her hands. She couldn't decide whether Quinn's groan was related to her cramp or what she was saying. Quinn had one hand over her eyes so it was difficult to guage if she was listening.

"Nothing's changed, " continued Rachel," You still have a lot to lose and little to gain." She switched to massaging the other calf before finally and a bit reluctantly stopping.

"Can we talk about this another time when I'm not so exhausted or in pain" Quinn said softly," Could you keep treating my right calf, I mean if you don't mind?" she added. Rachel's skilled fingertips returned to the task and Quinn could only wonder if there was anything Rachel didn't do well - other than clothing choices obviously. She bit back her moan, she didn't want to scare Rachel off but those fingers kneading her leg were on the borderline of pleasure and pain. Would asking Rachel to massage her thighs be pushing her luck a little too much?

"You have extremely talented hands," she said instead, watching Rachel blush faintly.

"Thanks" Rachel mumbled stopping her ministrations again, standing up and then pulling Quinn to her feet. They were now stood close together staring at one another, neither wishing to move or break eye contact.

" I would ask for a lift home but I don't think I'm up for a ride on the back of a bike" Quinn finally said to lighten the atmosphere and taking half a pace away from Rachel.

"I've got my Dads truck so I can give you a lift home if you'd like. How did you get here?" Rachel was internally scolding herself. Her need to be helpful trumped the thought of distancing herself from Quinn.

"I drove but I'm not sure I'm in a fit state to drive home. I'll worry about the car tomorrow for now my priority is a long hot bath" Quinn sighed longingly at the thought of a deep hot bath

"Come on then, the sooner you collect your belongings, the sooner we can get you home. I need to collect my bike so I'll meet you over there by the gate if that's okay" Rachel was back into organising mode. Perhaps she could lay a few ground rules out with Quinn on their journey home and then they could go on to ignoring each other properly. She watched Quinn walk gingerly towards the trailer housing the competitors' belongings wondering if she really had the strength to step away.

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><p>The journey home was in relative silence. Quinn bit back any comment about the cushions Rachel needed for elevation particularly given the pre-emptive glare Rachel had given her. She mustered the energy to thank Rachel profusely for the support, the drink and snacks, and the lift before settling back to close her eyes and concentrate on Rachel singing along to 'running up that hill' and all the other running themed songs she'd selected.<p>

As she parked the truck outside Quinn's house Rachel glanced across at the exhausted and dozing girl. She undid her seatbelt and leant across to move wisps of hair off of Quinn's face. Quinn didn't stir and then impulsively Rachel touched her lips to her forehead before guiltily pulling back and then hastily climbing out of the truck. She took a few breaths to calm her heart rate and her breathing before walking round to open the passenger door to a now stirring Quinn. A slightly dopey but incredibly stiff Quinn exited the truck stumbling bleary eyed for a few paces before Rachel overcame her reservations and stepped up to help her_. I'd do the same for anyone_ she told her hectoring inner voice – _well maybe not Ben Jacob Israel_ she then conceded reluctantly. Quinn thankfully wrapped her arm around Rachel's shoulders and began to mumble a mix of thanks and praise for how wonderful Rachel was before handing over her front door keys and requesting assistance to her bedroom. Rachel felt it would be churlish to refuse and so found herself helping Quinn to her room so she could collapse groaning on her bed. Rachel stepped into the tastefully decorated ensuite bathroom to start running a bath before returning to find Quinn still in exactly the same position that she had left her.

"Bath's running Quinn. I really need to get going before my Dads become unduly worried" Rachel rushed out." Unless there's anything else you need?"

Quinn wanted to say a topless full body massage but had the manners to desist. Rachel was looking slightly out of her comfort zone so she settled for reassuring her that she was fine. She pulled herself reluctantly off the bed and quickly hugged a surprised Rachel.

"You've been amazing – thanks," she whispered quietly into Rachel's ear feeling her shiver against her before reluctantly releasing her hold.

"Anyone would have done the same," muttered Rachel noting Quinn's sceptical look.

"No they wouldn't Rachel only you are.." Quinn tried to think of the words to capture just how much she was filled with affection for Rachel at that moment

"So do you want a lift tomorrow to pick up your car?' Rachel interrupted hastily not wanting to hear Quinn heap praises on her - she'd really only done what anyone would have she insisted to her nagging inner voice. Way to go on the cutting off all contact she chided herself before acknowledging that her and Quinn needed to discuss not talking before they ..well.. stopped talking.

"That would be great Rach, I'll text you later to sort it out but for now I can hear a hot bath calling me" Quinn walked stiffly towards the bathroom." You okay at finding your way out?"

"Of course. I have an impeccable sense of direction," stated Rachel pleased to see Quinn smile fondly at her," and if that inexplicably fails I have a map app on my phone " Rachel turned to leave the room.

"Rachel" Quinn called. Rachel turned to look at her, "Thanks – I wouldn't have finished the run without you"

"That might not be something you should be thanking me for judging by your current state" grinned Rachel.

"It's just nice to have someone believe in you" Quinn replied softly watching Rachel's expression turn serious.

"Quinn, you're incredibly talented and can do whatever you set your mind to – you just need to believe in yourself" Rachel replied seriously as they again gazed at each other intently and the atmosphere became intense.

"Anyway we really haven't got time for a quick burst of 'Don't stop believing' I must go" and with that Rachel beat a hasty retreat from the room, before the urge to hug Quinn tightly became overwhelming. She should never have gone to the race, she was just making the ignore Quinn task harder and the regrets list longer. Tomorrow definitely needed to be the end of all this.


	21. Chapter 21

**Thanks to the stalwart reviewers who are still hanging in there -penultimate chapter now I reckon... Big thanks to shinigami9x for feedback and beta-ing**

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><p>Rachel had a game plan all figured out as she headed over to the Fabray mansion the next morning. She would be politely distant and emotionally restrained in order to aid their path to ignoring each other forthwith. Emotionally distant and politely restrained, she could do this. She knocked on the door. Distantly restrained and politely emotional - how hard could it be? Coherent thoughts fled as Mrs Fabray, sporting a distinctly hostile expression, opened the door.<p>

"Yes?" Mrs Fabray snapped at her, unhappy that someone was disturbing her Sunday morning. Rachel had now mastered the gaping like a goldfish look, which she had an opportunity to admire in the mirror behind the scowling woman in front of her.

"Rachel's here early for the orgy I've planned for this afternoon while you're out," said Quinn lightly pushing past her mother to drag a flaming faced Rachel into the house. "Don't mind her," she reassured Rachel, "you probably interrupted her watching reality tv and feeling superior"

Rachel managed a nod before then spluttering, "Or... Orgy?"

"Didn't you get the invite?" teased Quinn as a smile played around her features. "I thought you gone for the young, virginal and innocent look." Rachel's wide eyed expression was just too cute to resist so Quinn wrapped an arm round her shoulder as she guided her towards the kitchen.

"Since being an unwed teenage mom, my own mother regards me as a slattern. She'd send me to a convent if she wasn't convinced that I'd then corrupt all women in it. It seems only fair not to disappoint her again so I constantly joke about sex for her benefit." A brief pause for reflection then, "So at least my mother's opinion of me isn't completely negative, she does hold my seduction skills in high regard."

Quinn's final comment was accompanied by a bitter laugh and she moved to step away from Rachel. Rachel pulled her back into a quick hug.

"It's your mother's misfortune not to know the real you," she said sincerely, recognising that emotionally distant and restrained had all just dropped off her to do list. She could still do polite unless Mrs Fabray provoked her.

"Are you suggesting my seduction skills aren't that great?" quipped Quinn to ease the tension.

"Quite the contrary," replied Rachel, "I've no doubt you could charm anyone you wanted into your bed." She tried to will the rising blush away from her cheeks as she and Quinn indulged in a quick staring exchange.

"I just think you're much more picky now," Rachel mumbled.

"Yes, well, Puck wasn't exactly a prince among men, definitely a lesson learnt there," replied Quinn placing a glass of iced water in front of Rachel.

"More a toad among frogs" said Rachel. "You deserve, and could do, so much better."

Quinn held her glass of water to her lips as her eyes swept slowly over Rachel taking in her favourite curves and those wonderfully pouty lips. If only circumstances were different...

"Emm, you're so right." She smirked as Rachel held her own glass to her face. Was it her or was it hot in here? She might be mature for her age but she certainly shouldn't be having hot flushes.

"So you seem to have recovered from your exertions yesterday," mentioned Rachel, having already noted that Quinn was no longer walking awkwardly

"Good as new, which reminds me..." Quinn turned away to the sink before producing a bunch of flowers with a flourish." Thanks for everything!" She smiled proffering the bunch to Rachel.

There was a stunned silence and the look of total surprise on Rachel's face was quickly replaced with a delighted expression.

"I've never been given flowers before," Rachel managed to say still slightly awe struck, "Well, at least, not beyond theatrical tradition"

"Says more about the losers you've dated than it does about you," reassured Quinn. "These are hand-picked" - she gestured towards the garden - "and feature some of my Mothers favourite blooms. Just kidding," she added hastily as Rachel's beam began to fade.

"Thank you," gushed Rachel hugging Quinn taking care not to crush her flowers. " I love them."

"Now that I know it's this easy to make you happy, I'll be giving you flowers everyday," replied Quinn wincing slightly as her ears caught up with her mouth. That was meant to be a thought not a remark. The smile faded on Rachel's lips to be replaced with a slightly regretful expression.

"Yes, well um, are you sufficiently rested and pain free for us to have the conversation you avoided yesterday?" inquired Rachel.

Quinn held her hands up in surrender.

"We both know what that conversation would entail, so let's just enjoy the here and now and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow," suggested Quinn. "Finish your drink and let's go collect my car" She watched Rachel pull the baseball cap out of her bag. "No disguises necessary, let's just live a little."

Quinn waved away Rachel's attempts to protest.

"Mother, we're just off out to fetch a few supplies. We'll be back later to oil each other up in preparation for this afternoon," Quinn called out as they headed towards the door. Rachel rolled her eyes at Quinn as she tried to banish thoughts about what oiling each other up would involve even if it was just a joke.

"Nice to meet you Mrs Fabray," called out Rachel, a victim of her upbringing.

"Don't hold your breath waiting for a reply," warned Quinn," I think she likes to imagine that everything that's happened is a bad dream and thinks that conversing might somehow shatter that illusion."

Quinn registered Rachel's concerned look

"Don't worry, she's on medication," she added watching Rachel's eyebrows rise in concerned curiosity. "Half a bottle of gin a day keeps the doctor and reality away," sing-songed Quinn. "She's self-medicating and can adjust the dose as reality threatens to intrude," she added as they headed down the garden path. "I leave literature about AA around, but really she needs to decide she wants to change and she's nowhere close to that yet," Quinn added in a more serious tone. "She's out with the God Squad this afternoon hence her sobriety now."

Rachel was unsure what to say so she just let Quinn talk nodding to encourage her as they drove to the park. Somehow her overbearing Dads didn't seem quite so bad after all. Maybe she should cut them a little bit of slack. They travelled on a bit further both lost in their own thoughts.

"Rachel, I'm disappointed," commented Quinn.

Rachel felt her heart sink. "Why?" she queried, uncertain what social faux pas she might have now committed.

"No dedicated playlist about collecting an abandoned car?" Quinn grinned at her.

Rachel smiled back. "No, not inspiring enough, but I do have a car themed playlist if that would help?" Rachel replied and with a quick press of a button Chitty Chitty bang bang began to blast from the speakers with Rachel joining in.

Quinn couldn't stop herself smiling; listening to Rachel sing along to one of her playlists was fast becoming one of her favourite activities. Or maybe joining in, she reconsidered as 'Car Wash' came on and she was obliged to participate. She didn't want their interaction to be over, so when they finally arrived at the park Quinn suggested they stroll along to the cafe for coffee and cake. Rachel knew she should decline but just wanted to eek out a little more time in Quinn's company before they initiated an ignore each other completely strategy, and where was the harm in that?

Two lattes and chocolate brownies in hand later and they were in search of somewhere to sit just as Rachel's worst fears were realised. She spotted Trixie and her dopey air-headed best buddy Lizzie before the Cheerios noticed them. She tried to sidle surreptitiously away from Quinn to at least put some distance between them so they might not look as if they were together.

Oblivious to the danger, Quinn was having none of it. " Come on Rach, you're dragging your feet as if you're the one who ran a half marathon" she teased.

"I'd contest the use of the word 'ran'," Rachel replied ,noting that Trixie and Lizzie were now striding purposefully towards them, malevolent grins on their faces. This couldn't be good - Trixie and Lizzie probably didn't have a pair of brain cells between them to rub together, but they had a natural talent for bitchy and hurtful remarks. They probably weren't rushing over just to say hello. A warning for Quinn died on her lips.

"Well, Easy-lay Fabray," Trixie drawled, pleased to have caught Quinn off guard judging by her startled expression. "Who knew you'd sunk so low that you've taken to hanging out with freak faced losers," she added managing to wave a dismissive hand in the direction of a cringing Manhands who seemed to be trying to appear invisible.

Lizzie nodded her head excitedly. "Yeah. like loserville." she added just to be a part of the fun. Quinn was scary in a one-to-one interaction. but with Trixie alongside her they had a numerical advantage. It wasn't as if the big nosed loser knew how to stand up to anybody.

"Wow, Dizzy Lizzie and Ditsy Trixie, I'm surprised the two of you are allowed out unsupervised," responded Quinn. Not her best comeback she realised but she'd been caught unprepared and mooning a bit over Rachel. She was aware of Rachel trying to put distance between them, so she reached out a hand partly to reassure her and partly to stop her moving away. This was about united fronts and standing tall – or as tall as a small frame would allow. Lizzie was looking puzzled but that was hardly an unusual event. Lizzie was no threat; Trixie needed dealing with as a matter of some urgency.

"So Trixie, who knew you'd finally learn to use full sentences, your mother must be so proud," drawled Quinn dismissively.

"Unlike yours," sneered Trixie. "Have you quite finished embarrassing and humiliating her in front of her church friends or have you found a few new sins to try out, such as _homosexuality?_" Trixie managed to draw the final word out in a shocked faux whispered tone, indicated Quinn's hand on Rachel's arm. Quinn stopped herself from moving her hand; it would a definite sign of weakness or guilt. Lizzie chipped in with a "Gay Fabray" but her smile quickly disappeared at the sight of Quinn's scowl.

"If touching is a sin you two are just as guilty," Quinn smirked indicating their linked arms. There was a brief pause as the meaning of her words sunk in then the two Cheerios scrambled to put distance between them. Rachel fought the urge to laugh, unsure whether amusement or fear would have been the reason.

"Well, you and your dad know all about sin," managed Lizzie paraphrasing her mother's often repeated gossip about the Fabrays. "Sowing his seed in fertile ground after giving up on the barren ground of your mother," she added, beaming with pride at managing to get that out in the right order.

"Yeah, your dad's going to hell, Fabray, joining tranny's faggot fathers there," gloated Trixie. "Shouldn't you be in church on your knees praying in vain for God's forgiveness for your sins?" Trixie mimed rocking a baby for added emphasis.

Rachel had felt Quinn stiffen beside her at the mention of her parents, but her grip on Rachel's arm became painful once the baby reference was made. Time for Rachel to stand up and be counted. Placing herself in front of Quinn, hands on her hips she finally spoke.

"Shouldn't you two be on your knees in front of the football team trying in vain to suck your way to popularity?" she inquired with perfect diction, which allowed her words to carry over the conversation of the other café patrons. A sudden lull in all chatter quickly followed as all eyes in the café suddenly focussed on the four girls.

It was difficult to decide who was more stunned, Quinn, Trixie, Lizzie or Rachel herself. Rachel resisted the urge to clamp both hands over her mouth and instead focussed on expressing her displeasure through the power of her stare. Where had that come from? She'd just deliberately insulted someone and, worse, she'd enjoyed doing it. Still, Trixie and Lizzie deserved it for insulting Quinn and her family. Quinn was the first to recover and stepping up to stand alongside Rachel.

"Suck off, you two," she stated with a threatening growl, feeling pleased with her pun. Lizzie stepped back involuntarily, her bravado ebbing away with the proximity of Quinn and the curious stares of the other café customers. Trixie realised her advantage had disappeared what with Rachel joining in and Lizzie beginning to retreat. Time to withdraw in the face of a rather public humiliation.

"I..you.. You'll pay for that," spluttered a red-faced Trixie pointing a menacing finger at Rachel before turning away and dragging Lizzie with her.

"More likely you will," retorted Rachel calling after the rapidly retreating girls "You should read up about the reasons behind the recent rise in women's oral cancer rates."

Quinn was amazed and astounded. Who knew Rachel had it in her, daring to call them out on their sexual behaviour? She gazed fondly and appreciatively at Rachel - ' no holds barred' Berry was definitely someone she wanted to see more of. She was aware of laughter from some of the tables around her and suddenly the rather public nature of the exchange began to sink in.

"Sorry about that," mumbled Rachel , now embarrassed at the size of the audience to her outburst as well as a little shell-shocked at what she'd actually said," but it's true about the link between..." Rachel trailed off under the intensity of Quinn's gaze before averting her eyes to the ground. Quinn must be terrified of what would happen now and, rather than be able to play it off as some coincidence, Rachel had upped the stakes with her ill-considered remarks, managing to remove any doubt of whether they were there in the park together. She winced internally; Quinn probably wanted to kill her. She could imagine how Quinn's pale pallor had paled further at the mention of 'homosexuality'.

"I should just go," Rachel said quietly. "Sorry if I embarrassed you"

"Don't be silly," enthused Quinn, squeezing Rachel's arm trying to make her look at her. "You were amazing." She grinned wishing she'd videoed Rachel putting Trixie and sidekick in their places because -wow- who'd believe it? She was still trying to understand why Rachel stood up for her when she never stood up for herself. Rachel finally managed to look at her and was surprised to note a cool, calm, unflustered Quinn in front of her looking highly amused - maybe not that upset then.

"Remind me never to cross you," Quinn joked as she chose a table at the front of the café in a prime spot.

"I'm quite hard to cross although that pair seemed to manage it," Rachel reached for her coffee. "Maybe we should go now..."

"Rach, nothing we do now will change what's going to happen on Monday. Trixie's unlikely to say anything just because she came off second best besides what's there to say?" Quinn could feel tendrils of fear beginning to form at the thought of what there was to say and worse, how others would react to it. Rachel had just publicly called them out for giving blowjobs to the entire football team, hardly something Trixie would be forgetting by tomorrow.

Rachel watched as doubt and uncertainty began to creep across Quinn's features. Perhaps she was just one of those delayed shock people and now her amusement at what Rachel had said was wearing off and the reality of being seen in her company was setting in. Rachel braced herself ready for Quinn to lash out - she should never have agreed to come, what had she been thinking? She knew something like this would happen.

Quinn forced herself to take measured sips of her coffee and bites of her brownie as she wrestled with her fear. So she'd been seen hanging out with Rachel, so what? Were words really that powerful? Trixie and Lizzie had seemed more focussed on insulting her family than on ridiculing her choice of friends, that had just been an excuse to get started. Not that they'd need much of an excuse to get started once back in the confines of school. Quinn suddenly fixed her gaze on Rachel as the implications of what had just happened began to dawn on her. As if Trixie was going to let this public shaming go, she'd want revenge and she'd want it several times over. Quinn knew she needed to stop dwelling on it, it was too late to undo what had happened. Even a gift-wrapped humiliated Rachel Berry probably wouldn't assuage Trixie's thirst for revenge, her inner voice helpfully pointed out. She couldn't believe she'd just thought that. She needed to stop worrying about school and all the things that would be said about her. There was no point dwelling on how her reputation would be ripped to shreds or how she'd be a laughing stock.

"I think Trixie is going to have a lot to say on Monday," stated Rachel taking a bite of her brownie, but still watching Quinn trying to gauge her reaction.

"Well, she's hardly going to forget what you said in a hurry - it gives her an excuse, not that she needs one, to target you," Quinn replied, a slight hint of annoyance creeping into her voice although whether with Rachel or with Trixie was less clear. In her head, Quinn was picturing students circling round her, pointing and laughing at her jeering at her for befriending the lowest of the low.

Rachel gave her a wry smile, took a sip of her coffee before replying nonchalantly, "Been there, done that. The slushies are irritating as they take time to clean up from, but verbal insults..." - Rachel waved a hand - "as the daughter of gay fathers I've been receiving insults from before I could even speak."

"Yes, but the other students will think..." Quinn said trailing off as she realised she was displaying her fear of the opinions of others.

"I tune most of the insults out and why worry about the opinions of people I don't respect? They'll either go on to regret their actions or they won't, nothing I say or do will influence that, so why waste the energy?" Rachel was still talking calmly.

Quinn sat quietly admiring Rachel's ability to tune out the hatred and spite she was subjected to. It was so different to how she had been brought up and required strength of character she didn't think she possessed. She couldn't not care about the opinion of her peers.

"But it comes across as weakness. Those two will go for you after what you said today because you won't fight back" blurted Quinn.

"What about you?" asked Rachel wondering where this was all heading? Quinn was talking as if she hadn't been a part of the confrontation.

"What about me?" Quinn batted the question back. She wasn't the problem

Rachel was examining her intently and Quinn realised she'd implied the wrath of the two Cheerios would be focussed solely on Rachel, as if she hadn't been involved in what had happened. She could see that Rachel had picked that up. She needed to do something.

"They saw us together," probed Rachel. Was Quinn moving into denial?

"Yes, well, your remarks will ensure they won't forget that in a hurry," Quinn replied tersely refusing to allow herself to think about consequences for her.

"Lucky I was there then to draw their attention on to me," said Rachel dryly, torn between annoyance and amusement at Quinn's interpretation of what had happened.

Quinn tried not to wince at the comment; she recognised she was trying to distance herself.

"What can I do?" Quinn finally found the courage to ask, somewhat fearful of Rachel's response.

"Take some responsibility for what happened?" suggested Rachel watching Quinn trying not to flinch. She bit back the "Maybe show a bit of backbone?" that hovered on the tip of her tongue

Rachel continued to eye Quinn carefully. What could she do indeed. Quinn was already rewriting events in her head to downplay her own part and shift responsibility to anyone but her. Her fear of loss of face was disproportionate to the actual likely outcome. Really, it was time to let go of any silly notions she'd held about possibly being in some kind of relationship with Quinn as it was so apparent Quinn couldn't deal with it. She was falling apart on just dealing with being seen with her. Rachel nodded her head as if coming to a conclusion. She stood up, brushed the brownie crumbs off her lap and drained the dregs of coffee from her cup. She looked Quinn sternly in the eye.

"You need to distance yourself totally from me. Throw a slushy over me if necessary. You're not used to coping with sustained Cheerio and Jock attacks and that's probably what's heading my way now. I don't want to have to worry about you so..." Rachel leaned over the table so her face was inches away from Quinn's, "Stay...away... from... me."

Quinn was looking at her wide-eyed and speechless so she seized the moment. "No talking, no touching, no texting - starting now." Rachel counted the points off on her fingers and, with that, she straightened up and marched away from the table without a single glance back. She needed to gain some distance before she let herself cry. She'd given Quinn the let out she needed - making herself a target, as if Quinn hadn't been involved. Could Quinn be any more obvious in her need to remove herself from the day's events? Rachel was fed up with being involved with people who wouldn't stand up for her; she needed a bit more self-respect rather than repeating her past mistakes.

Quinn sat rooted to her chair watching Rachel walk away as relief and regret fought for dominance over her emotions. Rachel was offering her the perfect get out: she could slushy Rachel, claim a misunderstanding in the park or some scheme to make Rachel trust her and hence increase the effect of the slushy, and have Trixie et al off her back almost immediately. She'd be left alone and life would continue on as normal - provided she could ignore the baiting and bullying of Rachel on the side-lines. Quinn rolled this idea around in her head; it gave her a trouble free life so why did this feel so incredibly wrong. What if she dropped the slushy part of the plan? That didn't feel quite so wrong but still uncomfortable. Okay, so she'd need to subtlety hint that her being with Rachel in the park was some kind of grand humiliation plan and hence restore her standing, and then she just needed to ignore the punishments dished out to Rachel. After all, Rachel had said she was used to it and... What kind of cowardly pathetic person had she turned into? Was she really going to throw Rachel to the wolves?

Rachel had said she 'didn't want to be worrying about her' - Quinn mentally slapped herself. That was why it all felt so wrong. Rachel cared enough about her to put herself on the line repeatedly to protect her and her precious reputation. She hadn't asked for anything in return nor wanted any thanks. What had she ever done for Rachel? Stopped one slushy and some ink pellets? Hardly quid pro quo. Rachel had allowed herself to be humiliated in front of her only friends so Quinn's reputation remained intact, even when Quinn had given her permission to reveal all. She was prepared to let Quinn slushy her so Quinn wasn't in the firing line and instead would soak up all the hostility. Quinn hadn't even tried to exert herself to stop what happened around her. In a one-on-one situation she'd intimidate the hell out of Trixie, Lizzie or any of their ilk so why not build on that? At least _try_ to protect Rachel, Rachel deserved so much better than she currently received.

Right, she needed to focus on an action plan for tomorrow, trying to protect Rachel from behind the scenes. She felt her spirits lift – yes, this had a much better feel about it as a plan of action. So, who did she have the dirt on and how could she manipulate Santana into doing her bidding? The quickest way to close Cheerios down was to set Santana on them, but controlling Santana was a highly skilled and potentially dangerous task. Trying to control Santana through Brittany was fraught with even more difficulty now that Artie was in the picture, but definitely a previously well tried and tested method. Worthy of her consideration at least.

Quinn ordered herself another coffee. Time to ferret out weaknesses and play to her strengths, time to put her skills as ex-Cheerio captain and arch-manipulator to good use. McKinley High had no idea what was about to hit it.


	22. Chapter 22

**Finally... so with massive thanks to the betas who helped make this so much better (jspencer1986 & shinigami9x) and to those loyal reviewers who continued to comment through good and bad writing... we come to the grand finale. A bit of a health warning is necessary as this is much longer than usual but I wanted to finish it!**

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><p>Quinn had spent a great deal of time playing with her coffee and considering her options - master puppeteer from the shadows pulling everyone's strings to ensure Rachel remained unharmed had been her starting point but the flaws were quickly apparent. Quite frankly it was time consuming and exhausting to be trying to manipulate everyone to do your biding - all that intimidating, threatening and occasionally cajoling was just so wearing. It was like juggling five balls blindfolded whilst walking a tightrope. One wrong move and the whole carefully crafted act came crashing down. Besides there was always the slight possibility of the worm turning, or in this case a whole field full of worms turning, and her energy supplies were hardly limitless. In fact she was amazed she'd managed to control and manipulate so many people during her HBIC days - maybe your energy levels really did drop off with age. There were two fronts that needed addressing- the Cheerios' and the jocks, although the latter were probably susceptible to being influenced by the former. Also Jocks, with their goldfish memories, were a lot of effort for little reward.<p>

Influencing the Cheerios' had been child's play when she was in charge but now Santana held sway it was a whole different ballgame. Santana's ability to intimidate anyone with her 'Lima heights' act was definitely the fastest and most effective method of enforcing a cease and desist order on Rachel-baiting. But, and it was an enormous but, there was no way of telling whether Santana would play ball. Santana had been looking for distraction since Brittany had paired up with Artie and the way she dealt with her pain was to ensure everyone around her felt at least ten times worse than she did. She might relish the opportunity to heap scorn on both Quinn and Rachel – not that Rachel would necessarily notice any difference. Would Santana be able resist the urge to eviscerate Quinn given the right information? Was it possible to persuade Santana to protect Rachel without offering herself up on a plate at the same time?

Her and Santana's friendship had always been borne out of necessity rather than affection. Santana had been nowhere to be seen when baby gate erupted and Quinn had been unsurprised to find a helping hand wasn't extended in her direst hour of need. Brittany might have been shooting her sympathetic looks but Santana was always pulling her away to ensure the pair of them didn't become caught in the vortex of destruction that Quinn managed to wrap around herself. Maybe she and Santana were too similar to be friends, both battling almost identical inner demons – although she'd only recently realised that. Desperately seeking approval whilst being the living embodiment of everything their families despised – definitely not something to bond over. Her father might be a fundamental Christian but he appeared positively liberal and tolerant compared to Santana's devout catholic family with their admiration of the Pope and time spent seeking absolution in church for sins real or imagined. She sighed, there was no point trying to appeal to Santana's better nature, she simply didn't have one.

Quinn had no intention of leaving herself vulnerable to Santana's at best snarky asides, at worst an all-out humiliation campaign. Santana was bound to find out at some point that Quinn was a) gay, and b) crushing majorly on Rachel, so it was all just a matter of how that information was revealed. She grimaced. She kept getting stuck on this point because she couldn't imagine that this information could be revealed without Santana being loudly obnoxious about it. She'd need to stand up to Santana but, when it came down to it, she was doubtful that in a head-to-head physical confrontation she could actually "take" Santana.

That left just one option: Brittany, the only person who wielded the ability to influence Santana. Dealing with Brittany was as frustrating as trying to herd kittens and often had unintentional consequences. Her unconventional world-view made getting her to influence Santana a disaster just waiting to happen, and maybe Brittany's influence was waning with inverse proportion to her closeness to Artie. Quinn sighed. She'd just have to give it a go and this time she'd try a uniquely innovative strategy of telling Brittany the truth about her feelings for Rachel. She could feel herself waver, maybe she needed to think about this all again. Was confessing her feelings for Rachel really necessary?

She'd vacillated pathetically about whether Rachel returned her feelings or not. Only detailed examination of all available evidence convinced her that Rachel at least had a slight crush on her - possibly. The stand off earlier with Rachel confronting the two Cheerios' in defence of her was difficult to interpret in any other way than Rachel caring about her feelings. True, everything else might be attributable to that stupid dare she had with Mercedes and her trying to atone for her guilt about it but no-one with even half a brain dared insult Cheerios' unless they had a death wish and Rachel was far from a suicidal imbecile. That small bit of hope was sufficient to build on wasn't it? She was hardly lacking in skills on the seduction front. Girls were a bit trickier than boys though, she imagined, as their decision making centre didn't tend to be situated between their legs. Quinn was losing her focus. Her plan to protect Rachel from the wrath of the Cheerios' seemed to be morphing into something far more ambitious - was she really contemplating a public declaration of how she felt?

Images of Rachel flashed through her mind - there really was nothing more amazing than Rachel performing on stage and she'd be happy to be a roadie if she just got to see Rachel casting her spell over an eager audience nearly every night. From here she moved on to quickly realising that admiration from afar probably wasn't enough for her - a quick recollection of the _lovin' touchin' squeezin_' performance ran through her head - could she really admire all that sexiness from a distance without wanting to kill anyone who dared venture near, even if it was only in the name of performance? Perhaps being in Rachel's orbit wasn't nearly enough and after much thought she'd finally come to the conclusion that if she was going to go for it, she was going to go for it big time. Not some pussy footing about tentative should-we could-we friendship played out in fear of being found out, but a full on romantic no-holds-barred relationship up front and out there for everyone to see. She felt a wave of hope flood through her system.

Provided Rachel was up for it of course. There was always the possibility that a public declaration would be followed by a crushing and humiliating knock back. Quinn steeled herself; a public declaration was the least Rachel deserved and it suddenly came to her that it should be by song. Rachel, who lived her life with a personally chosen soundtrack running through it, placed a great deal of emphasis on the importance of music. Words were powerful but words accompanied by music definitely were disproportionally influential on Rachel's emotions. The right song would make absolutely everything just fall into place, or rather a swooning Rachel fall into her arms. The added bonus was she could claim it was just a song if a total humiliating rejection followed. Did she have the patience, time or talent to have a song ready for tomorrow? The very last thing she needed was for Rachel to be so distracted by the defects of her performance that she missed the message of the song.

Quinn sipped on her now stone cold coffee distracted as she flicked through photos on her phone. She finally managed to play the Quinn video she'd downloaded from Rachel's phone in what felt like a lifetime ago. As 'I like the way you move' played to a montage of Quinn dancing she finally committed herself to a Glee performance to win over Rachel - obviously her dancing was a weapon she hadn't realised she possessed. Right then, a plan of action was becoming a little clearer. She needed to deal with Trixie and Lizzie immediately, she needed to have a potentially incredibly embarrassing conversation with Brittany in the hope of indirectly toning down Santana and she needed to identify a song designed to make Rachel melt into her arms provided she could perfect her rendition of it in the short amount of time available. Preferably a rock song given Rachel's tastes but one that would play to her strengths, say what she wanted it to and give her the opportunity to flaunt her dancing prowess. She smiled, no doubt Rachel would know just the song - shame she herself was currently clueless.

* * *

><p>Quinn strode into school the next morning at an incredibly early hour - well it wasn't as if she'd been able to sleep with all the different scenarios running through her head especially as most ended in her crashing and burning. She remembered reading somewhere that if you sent the text " All is discovered, flee" that most people would run. Everyone has a dirty or guilty secret that they are afraid of others discovering and she intended to play on this fear. This might not be the most effective plan ever but the dopey duo of Trixie and Lizzie would probably succumb to such intimidation and on the plus side it probably wouldn't be in any breach of Rachel's moral code of conduct. This would therefore stop any chance of Rachel judging her harshly once she finally got round to asking Quinn what she did to get the Cheerios' to back off - if her admittedly rather pathetic plan paid off. She needed to deal with Trixie early on before anything could happen hence her presence in school at such an ungodly hour. Nullify Trixie and Lizzie would follow. Quinn took a deep breath she could do this.<p>

One of the benefits of having once been the Head Cheerio meant Quinn knew all the girls schedules and habits like the back of her hand - well probably better than that as the back of her hand wasn't particularly that memorable. It wasn't hard to single out Trixie as she arrived at her usual time, parked in her usual space and headed for her usual spot in the changing room. This time however Trixie found herself unceremoniously hauled into a classroom and faced by a stern faced intimidating Quinn dressed in black who seemed to tower over her and encroach on her personal space in a menacing manner.

"What do you think you're doing?" spluttered Trixie as she finally managed to make her mouth work after the shock of her abduction had made her swallow her gum. She tried to move towards the door but a solitary finger in the middle of her chest stopped her. The silence dragged out a little longer and Trixie could feel droplets of sweat begin to form on her brow despite the chill in the early morning air.

"Look if it's about freak face and you" Trixie was keen for a clue. Quinn staring at her like that was just, well unsettling and an ever so teeny tiny bit scary. Still no flicker of a response from the ex -cheerio.

"I won't say anything," she finally pleaded. Trixie knew she was babbling but she just wanted to get away from psycho Quinn. Quinn kept her surprise off her face, she sort of had what she wanted with that statement but felt compelled to follow through just to really make sure Trixie didn't feel tempted to go back on her word. Besides it really shouldn't be that easy after all her planning. She folded her arms across her chest and looked appraisingly at the girl in front of her.

" This is not about me, it's about you," she said so quietly that Trixie needed to strain to hear her.

She stared Trixie straight in the eye before adding conspiratorially," I know"

Trixie was confused. What could Quinn possibly mean?

"I haven't a clue what you're talking about" she managed to reply her voice sounding less defiant than she'd hoped for. Damn that tremor in her voice. There was no way Quinn could know, was there?

"Trixie" Quinn leaned closer so her mouth was next to Trixie's ear," I know" she said before she pulled away maintaining eye contact and giving a slight nod. Trixie stared at her trying to read her face for a clue. Quinn was reluctant to elucidate any further, the more she said the more likely she was to mess it up so she concentrated on projecting a slightly disgusted, pitying yet smug, air. Perhaps she should be applying for drama courses if she'd pulled that expression off successfully. Trixie suddenly paled and stared disbelievingly at Quinn

" How? You couldn't, no-one..," she tailed off in disbelief "how?" She asked plaintively. Trixie was struggling to put it all together, there wasn't anyway Quinn could know about...that.

" How is irrelevant. What? Is more pertinent" Quinn continued with a matter of fact tone.

" W..what?" asked Trixie puzzled by the statement but far more fearful of what Quinn actually knew.

" Yes," explained Quinn patiently as if to a small child," As in _what _do you need to do to ensure my silence" She directed a pitying sneer at the now sweating profusely Cheerio.

"But he said.." blurted Trixie before trailing off. Quinn waved the comment away with her hand and a slight shake of her head to indicate its irrelevance. Trixie bit her lip and fought to hold back the tears that threatened to roll down her cheeks. Quinn had a momentary twinge of conscience before pushing it aside to stare dispassionately at the obviously upset girl. Trixie took a shaky breath.

"So what do you want?" she asked defeated. Quinn remained silent for a moment to allow the tension to ratchet up another few notches. Trixie was looking at her imploringly desperate for Quinn to name her price.

"Simple, you leave me and Rachel alone. Make sure the rest of the Cheerios' leave us alone and voila, my lips are sealed" Quinn mimed zipping her lips," Otherwise.." Quinn left the statement dangling. Trixie was relieved that she now knew the cost of Quinn's silence but horrified that Quinn would dream of revealing what she knew.

"You'd tell my parents," she said in disbelief. Quinn nodded " without hesitation" she stated truthfully. Trixie glared at her before reluctantly looking away. One moment of weakness and now this.

"I can't stop the rest of the Cheerios' picking on Rachel," she pleaded. She wasn't a big wheel in the Cheerios' machine, her role was more to follow rather than lead. She could hardly be held responsible for their behaviour it wasn't fair.

" And I might not be able to stop telling your parents about.." Quinn drawled hoping to be interrupted.

"Okay" exclaimed Trixie hurriedly as her hands pleaded for mercy, "I'll do what I can"

Quinn smiled coldly at her," Great, in that case, I'll do what I can" she replied.

Trixie eyed her warily. Quinn was a woman of her word and didn't make idle threats. Trixie felt nauseous, how was she going to ensure Quinn's silence? The pair of them held a brief staring match before reluctantly and in defeat Trixie looked away. The silence in the room was becoming oppressive until finally Quinn decided her point had been made.

"You need to hurry up else you'll be late for practice" she suggested conversationally. Trixie didn't need a second invitation and scurried towards the door, anxious to escape the room. Quinn drew in a breath - well that went better than she'd expected. Now she needed to locate Brittany.

* * *

><p>Rachel was amazed to have been in the school building for five minutes and yet still be unscathed. She had expected to run the gauntlet as soon as she showed her face and had sort of been hoping to soak up, no pun intended, some of the punishment early on to combat the dreaded anticipation. Maybe Trixie and Lizzie were somewhat better at psychological warfare than she'd given them credit for. Rachel squeezed the bag of spare clothes, toiletries and plastic bags into her locker and swung the door shut to be met by a puzzled looking Tina<p>

"Moving in?" Tina asked

"Just expecting some icy showers" replied Rachel, "I think I might have antagonised a couple of Cheerios' so I'm expecting all hell to break loose – in fact I think it might be overdue. Feel free to run at the first sign of danger," added Rachel with a grin. Tina stepped forward to thread her arm through Rachel's

"Now what kind of friend would that make me?" she smiled, "Come on I'll take my life in my hands and walk with you to our first lesson"

"On your head be it and probably mine too" joked Rachel as they started to walk down the corridor. She could do this; there was no point fearing the inevitable.

Rachel had a beaming smile and not-a-care-in-the-world air about her as Tina re-lived her weekend adventures with Mike. She might have appeared engrossed in the conversation but really she was still scanning the corridors to try and catch a glimpse of Quinn– she just wanted to test out her immunity to all things Fabray, it wasn't as if she was desperate to see her or anything. Her heart might race and her breath hitch at the thought of the blond goddess but her mind was firmly made up. It wouldn't however stop the slushy from Quinn being the most painful one.

"So, are things still complicated with Quinn?" asked Tina. She'd been dying of curiosity as to what complicated might mean for Rachel and Quinn – surely something on a scale of intense hatred to complete disdain was all the two could manage and how was that complicated?

'No not really, we'll be ignoring each other as usual" replied Rachel struggling to keep her voice even. She thought she'd got all these feelings of betrayal and loss out of her system last night, but obviously a little more time and listening to heartbreak themed songs was required.

"Still, things could be worse" Tina said with a smile," at least she never found out about that totally ridiculous bet you and Mercedes had about her – then we'd all have been in serious trouble"

"Well it wasn't a bet but more of a challenge and technically the time frame was infinite so it's still on-going " Rachel responded surprising herself at her unwillingness to let it go.

"I think the challenge is about as dead as we'll be if Quinn ever finds out about it" Tina replied as they headed into the classroom.

"Rest assured I won't be telling her" responded Rachel. That cat had been let out of its bag some time ago and Quinn's thirst for revenge had been greatly overrated. Unlike her fear of being seen with a loser, which had in fact been greatly under rated. She bit her lip to help cut off that train of thought, aware of Tina scrutinising her intently.

"Still at least we made it here in one piece eh." commented Tina

"Early days yet" replied Rachel ominously," Early days"

* * *

><p>Rachel was reflecting on the slightly surreal events of the day as she headed into that afternoons Glee rehearsal. She was still in her original first choice outfit of the day as yet untouched and unsullied by slushie. When Lizzie had approached her in the hallway between lessons Rachel had been preparing herself for the worst particularly when Trixie practically sprinted down the corridor to join them. She could barely keep her jaw from dropping to the floor when an out of breath Trixie threaded her arm through Lizzie's and announced that Rachel - yes she actually used her name - wasn't worth the time or energy. Then she dragged a confused Lizzie away leaving a gaping Rachel staring after them. Rachel had been wary of this perhaps being a ploy to lull her into some false sense of security before an onslaught began in earnest but once Trixie had headed off two other potential Cheerio verbal attacks Rachel had had to reconsider things. If she didn't know better she'd have said Trixie was protecting her but that couldn't be the case as the looks Trixie directed her way could hardly be described as friendly. Downright hostile would be more apt which just made Trixie's behaviour more, well, jarring.<p>

Rachel hadn't had much time to brood about it as, even more weirdly, she'd had to contend with Brittany's sudden need to hug her on sight. The first time it had happened she'd been sorting her books out at her locker when, with no warning, a pair of arms had wrapped round her and pulled her backwards into a tight hug. She'd managed to resist the urge to scream and had at first thought she was about to be dragged and thrown into one of the dumpsters until Brittany squealing "Rachel" in an affectionate tone in her ear clued her in to something entirely different going on. Brittany had then skipped her way on down the corridor and Rachel's question about what on earth that was for died on her lips as her eyes caught those of a scowling Santana. She'd sort of forgotten about it until the next time Brittany and her had happened to meet in the corridor and an effervescent Brittany hadn't just pulled her into a hug but had spun her round excitedly. There was no scowling Santana in sight so she'd seized her moment

" Brittany, what are you doing?" she had asked once her feet were back on terra firma. Brittany had looked at her puzzled as if she were mentally deficient.

" Hugging you" Brittany had replied slowly as if willing a dim witted Rachel to understand. The frown on Brittany's face changed into an enlightened look that quickly became downcast'" oh, you don't like being hugged"

" No it's not that. Of course I like being hugged" Rachel hurried to explain a flicker of a memory of Quinn hugging her threatened to resurface. She quashed it.

"So it's just me." Brittany looked and sounded on the verge of tears," You don't like being hugged by me" The quivering lip proved effective

" I..er.. Brittany of course I like your hugs" Rachel was uncertain exactly when this conversation ran away from her but she wasn't in the business of letting Brittany be upset.

"Really?" Brittany had asked in a small uncertain voice that made Rachel feel like a heel.

"Really, your hugs brighten my day" she'd said in an attempt to cheer the Cheerio up and found herself yet again enveloped in a bone crushing hug as Brittany squealed with happiness in her ear. Rachel had at this point decided to just go with the flow and relaxed into the hug. From then on in when Brittany saw her she hugged her and apart from scowls on the faces of Santana and Quinn no one seemed to pay much attention to it. A Quinn scowl on the periphery of her vision as she was spun around was the only sighting Rachel had had of Quinn all day. It had hardly been enough to draw any valid conclusions from other than that her heart rate still sped up at just the mere glimpse of her. She obviously wasn't going to recover from her Fabray infatuation any time soon. 

Quinn's big moment was fast approaching and she was almost paralysed by fear. Not fear of performing poorly, although that was definitely a possibility given that she'd only managed a hurried lunchtime practice with the band, but a terrifying fear of rejection. She'd had plenty of practice dealing with rejection in the past she kept telling herself battling off the ' What doesn't kill you makes you stronger' refrain that kept trying to play in her head. She took another deep calming breath, wiped her damp palms on her jeans and headed thought the door into the choir room. Brittany's exaggerated thumbs up gestures with unsubtle nods in Rachel's direction made her smile - she was glad she'd managed to talk to Brittany earlier and the help with the choreography for her intended performance was an added bonus. Another deep breath. She could do this. Everyone was here this was her moment.

" Mr Schue, I have something I've prepared for Glee club," she announced taking in his shocked expression with annoyance. This was a Glee club, performances were part of its everyday fabric. She might not have volunteered before, but he needn't have looked so surprised.

Quinn strode to the middle of the performance space trying not to register the curious looks directed her way. Rachel's eyes were firmly focussed on her tightly clasped hands in her lap - Quinn's first goal was to at least persuade Rachel to look at her. The drummer counted the band in on his drumsticks and as the intro played Quinn's first goal was achieved as Rachel looked up in surprise. This was no Motown number, Quinn's usual music of choice.

As Quinn sang the initial lyrics of 'I want you to want me' Rachel was desperately trying to figure out what, if anything, Quinn singing this song meant. Quinn was in full seduction mode as she glanced knowingly through hooded eyes at her audience and gyrated in a manner designed to leave no doubt as to what 'love you to love me' meant. A quick dance around the lead guitarist and Quinn's nerves had disappeared.

Rachel could feel the heat rising up her cheeks. She couldn't find the willpower to drag her eyes away from Quinn's rhythmic movements and as her breathing quickened and her mouth went dry, her brain was still trying to make sense of the song. Was Quinn targeting one of the boys in Glee club and would she be able to bare the agony if that was the case? She moved her hands to grip the edges of her chair, now would not be a good time to throw herself to her knees, wrap her arms around Quinn's legs and beg her to give her a chance.

Brittany had been watching Rachel closely as all other eyes in the room were focussed on Quinn. She could see the confusion on Rachel's features and suddenly realised that Rachel didn't know the song was for her. Immediate intervention was required so she jumped up to join Quinn dancing at the front hissing "she doesn't know you mean her" to Quinn when her back was to the audience and most eyes firmly fixated on her jiggling rear. Quinn was quick on the uptake and for the next chorus positioned herself in Rachel's direct eye line, thank goodness Rachel always favoured a front row seat, and sang the words to her, gesturing with her hands for emphasis.

A figurative thousand-watt light bulb suddenly illuminated above Tina's head, so _that's _what Rachel meant by 'complicated'. A thin line between love and hate indeed. Tina glanced around the rest of her fellow Gleeks to gauge their reactions. Mike was smiling fondly at the pair so that suggested he might have had an inkling so they'd be having words later; he could have at least hinted. Puck's lecherous smirk indicated he'd caught on to what was happening; it would be extremely dangerous for his health if Quinn spotted it. Santana seemed focussed only on Brittany a hint of regret playing across her features. Kurt looked torn between dismay and joy, if that was actually possible - maybe he'd eaten something that didn't agree with him. Artie looked like he hadn't yet made the leap to understanding what the song and those _oh so significant _looks meant. Finn had obviously made the connection - he was red faced, breathing heavily and seemed to be fighting to keep his temper in check. Tina finally turned her eyes on Mercedes. So that was what 'jaw on the floor' meant. If this were a cartoon, Mercedes eyes would be out on stalks. She seemed to be struggling to process what her eyes were actually seeing. Tina had no such problem as now everything was making sense, Quinn liked Rachel and, judging by that shy hesitant smile Rachel was currently directing to Quinn, those feelings were mutual.

Rachel's heart was hammering in her chest, disappointingly not in time to the music, as Quinn gently pulled her on to the dance floor. Quinn was staring intently into her eyes pleading with her to understand the message of the song. A smile played around Rachel's lips, she couldn't quite believe it. Did this mean..?Had Quinn just..? Those mesmerising hazel eyes locked on to hers, Quinn's hand was in hers and they had an audience - this couldn't really be happening. She was in a daze and unaware of the dance steps she was making or maybe she was just stumbling about. Quinn danced round to face Rachel placing her hands on Rachel's shoulders leaving absolutely no doubt to anyone watching that the one she wanted to want her was Rachel. She lifted one hand to gently stroke the side of Rachel's face before ever so gently running her thumb over those much fantasised about lips. It coincided with her last singing line, which was fortunate as emotion was threatening to choke her and she could hardly hear the music over the thundering of her heart in her chest. They were so close but the next move had to be Rachel's. The band was enjoying their final blast of sound but it all seemed to fade into the distance as Rachel slowly leaned towards her. Quinn's eyes fluttered shut as Rachel pulled her into a hug of the lightest, briefest contact but still one of sheer perfection. Quinn's heart was now racing and her emotions on high alert; breathing was suddenly difficult. This was what she wanted to spend the rest of her life doing, hugging and being hugged by Rachel Barbra Berry. Just being enveloped in those arms would be sufficient for her to die happy. Rachel drew back suddenly worried about her impulsiveness but this lasted only for a split second as a dreamy faced Quinn pulled her back in for a slightly longer and slightly tighter hug. Oh wow, was all Rachel could think as she pulled away and gazed somewhat dazed at the face splitting smile currently worn by an obviously happy Quinn Fabray.

"You're amazing, I want us to be more than friends" Quinn managed to whisper past the lump in her throat

"You're amazing too and I'd like that," replied a husky voiced Rachel as she moved a strand of Quinn's hair off her face and behind her ear. The pin dropping silence slowly broke into their trance so reluctantly Quinn turned to face the rest of the Gleeks, her arm wrapped possessively around Rachel's shoulders. Rachel reached up to entwine her fingers with Quinn's aware of her flushed appearance but too ecstatic to care. She needed Quinn to stop her from floating away on a cloud of happiness and from Quinn's expression she really wasn't faring much better. Wow.

The stunned silence really wasn't going to last much longer and Quinn knew she needed to take full advantage of her opportunity so she struggled to pull her jumbled thoughts into order. The reactions of the Glee club were irrelevant but Rachel deserved some vindication. Mr Schue looked like he was recovering from his embarrassment and was ready to spoil the moment with an ill chosen remark. Quinn swept the room quickly before fixing her gaze on a Mercedes who was still doing an incredibly accurate impersonation of a fish out of water.

" Nothing's impossible if Rachel sets her mind to it" Quinn eyeballed Mercedes meaningfully, her disdain transmitted effectively through her look. Mercedes had finally managed to close her mouth but struggled to find anything to say. It just didn't make any sense, had that really been Quinn and Rachel hugging? She dragged her gaze to meet the hard stare of a less than friendly Quinn as her mind decoded something about impossible.

Quinn waggled her four fingers at Mercedes in identical fashion to how Mercedes had taunted Rachel. Everything became frightening clear to a still rather stunned Mercedes – Quinn knew about the bet and was holding her responsible. She swallowed nervously. This couldn't be good.

" We're way past the four dates mark Mercedes in fact maybe you'd like to clarify for everyone here's benefit just who's right and who's wrong?" Quinn asked in an exceedingly sweet tone that made Mercedes want to cry.

Quinn wasn't really expecting an immediate response but she didn't intend to let Mercedes off the hook. The finger wriggling brought back a memory, which now, on reflection, probably hadn't been Mercedes wisest move. She glanced round the rest of Glee club – there was no sympathy to be had there, only amusement at her predicament. She swallowed nervously.

"Let me break it down for you" Quinn offered helpfully," You were.."

Mercedes could do with a natural disaster occurring right now to save her from this humiliation. She'd paused too long - Quinn was glowering at her. She managed to meekly whisper " Wrong" to the deadly quiet choir room

"Sorry, couldn't hear you" Quinn held her hand up to cup her ear and glared at her.

"Wrong" repeated Mercedes, the word leaving a bad taste in her mouth.

" And Rachel was.." prompted Quinn trying to dampen down her enjoyment at Mercedes squirming.

" Right" muttered Mercedes in defeat. Her cheeks were aflame with embarrassment. She was feeling slightly sick.

" Now to put that all together.." began Quinn.

"Quinn" said Rachel, "that's enough" the tone was gentle and the squeezing of her fingers sufficient to soften the words. Mercedes could have cried with relief.

"Well I hardly think" began Mr Schue, only to be cut off by Quinn's

"Yes we know, but we'd appreciate it if you tried" Mr Schue looked shocked; he fumbled around in his head for a fitting response.

" Picking on Rachel or letting others do so in your classes ends now" Quinn added as the red-faced teacher stared aghast at her, uncertain how this had suddenly become about him but aware there was a thread of truth in the accusation being made. The silence was uncomfortable.

Rachel cleared her throat drawing the attention of the room to her.

"I wanted to say something about the power of positive thinking but Quinn and I have a far more pressing engagement of assembling a kissing playlist, so some other time perhaps" Rachel grinned at them, the wink she gave coinciding with 'kissing playlist' was playful and suggestive. Another layer of shock had been added. Was that really Rachel 'I'm-going-to-wait-until-I'm-twenty-five' Berry being risqué off stage? The stern face Quinn had been sporting whilst talking to Mercedes and Mr Schue transformed into a slightly embarrassed grin – filter less Rachel was something she'd need to get used to. On the plus side the mere mention by Rachel of the word kissing had her heart racing.

With that the euphoric couple made their way to the exit totally wrapped up in each other and positively oozing happiness, leaving behind in their wake an embarrassed Mercedes, an annoyed Mr Schue and a flabbergasted Glee club. The closing door was the cue for squawks of disbelief to erupt as Santana beamed contentedly, leaning back on her chair and crossing her arms; she always knew Quinn had it in her.

* * *

><p><strong>Epilogue or not?<strong>


	23. Chapter 23

**Now that you've had a chance to forget the whole story here, by popular demand, is the epilogue or afterword - sorry, don't do sequels. Many thanks to all who spared the time to review particularly the regulars and of course cheers to shinigami9x for the beta-ing :)**

* * *

><p>An amazingly contented Rachel glanced across at the sleeping beauty next to her and still struggled to believe that this was indeed reality. It had been six months, three weeks, four days, and she didn't know how many hours and minutes, thank you very much, because she really wasn't as anal as people liked to believe - although fourteen hours and about twenty three minutes if you counted from the start of Quinn's song would be her best guess. Yet she still couldn't quite shake off her disbelief that Lucy Quinn Fabray was with her.<p>

She moved a strand of hair from her sleeping girlfriend's angelic face and lightly pressed her lips to her temple before leaning back against the headboard. If only everyone in the world could be as happy as her, there'd be no more war or crime, although maybe very little of anything would get done judging by how much time she spent with Quinn or, when not with Quinn, thinking about her. Okay, fantasising about her if accuracy was really needed. The rush of endorphins every time she saw Quinn had yet to fade. She hoped it never would, and fortunately Quinn was very tolerant, indeed quite encouraging, of her need to be constantly touching her. A hand resting on an arm during conversations, the light press of thighs when seated together, the holding of hands when walking anywhere - Rachel reached out to curl her fingers into Quinn's - it still amazed her that one person could have such an effect.

Still, when it came to reliving emotionally intense moments there was almost nothing quite like their first kiss. They'd floated out of the choir room oblivious to the chaos they had left behind that day. Santana had been delighted to later relate the Glee Club being in uproar what with a red-faced Mercedes blubbering and spluttering at one end of the choir room, Finn kicking chairs in the middle and Mr Schue mumbling and muttering at the other; it had been rather difficult for any rational speculation or gossip to take place.

Rachel and Quinn had headed to the park, uncertain on parental responses to their newly formed relationship and unwilling to risk disapproval so early on. They had strolled about holding hands, with Rachel positively vibrating with happiness, trying to pin down when they each first realised how they felt for the other. Quinn had spent a small part of the evening uploading photos of their earlier "dates" on to Facebook and sending them to Mercedes as well as changing their statuses, muttering something about being in control of the flow of information. Rachel had been content to snuggle into Quinn and admire her determination to make such a public declaration. She would have been less impressed if she'd known at the time that Quinn had three different Facebook pages, Lucy, Quinn and Lucy Quinn depending on her intended audience. The Facebook status change had reassured her more than any words, although sealing their new status with a kiss would have been better. Rachel had had to really wrestle with herself not to force the pace, after all there was only so much looking up through her fringe coquettishly, fluttering her eyelashes and licking her lips in what she hoped was a suggestive manner that she could do.

As darkness had descended Quinn had insisted they head out to their star gazing spot, ignoring Rachel's protests at their lack of preparation for such an expedition. Once parked, Quinn had produced a rucksack with what she had deemed essential supplies and yet again they were to find themselves lying on a blanket gazing up at the vastness of the universe and the galaxies of stars above them. It was then that Quinn had turned to her and whispered she'd brought Rachel here, as she had wanted to be sure Rachel would definitely see stars when they first kissed. Rachel had practically melted on the spot but managed to roll to face Quinn and then had hesitantly leaned in for a kiss. Quinn had met her partway and the gentle tender meeting of lips had far surpassed Rachel's expectations, the stars in the sky dimming in comparison to the kaleidoscope of colours that exploded in her head never mind the sensations that raced through her body. They'd kissed chastely again before someone, she wasn't sure which of them it was, moaned and with that things had become decidedly more heated. The taste of Quinn and the feel of Quinn's tongue on hers had been almost overwhelming and she just hadn't been able to sate her appetite for more. The rush of emotion caused by the touch of skin on skin was amazing, her fingers tracing those abs was heavenly. Even just thinking of it now had brought on a rush of emotions and a flood of warmth coursing through her veins. They'd managed eventually to rein in the urge to act like hormonal teenagers, partially helped by Rachel's dads phoning to demand her location and her immediate return home to discuss "something interesting on your Facebook, young lady". Quinn had grumpily suggested that maybe her parents should get her tagged. Late into the night, too afraid to sleep in case she woke up to find this was all a dream, Rachel was putting the finishing touches to a kissing playlist, this time with experience rather than anticipation being a major influence.

They had finally given into the urge to act like hormonal teenage girls just over a week later. Suddenly Rachel had upped the ante. So rather than their usual fare of songs such as 'Crazy in Love' and 'I think I love you' Rachel had sung 'Damn wish I was your lover' as the title said everything she wanted it to. Quinn had reciprocated the next day with a stirring performance of 'I just want to make love to you'. That night Quinn had risked life and limb scaling the tree outside Rachel's bedroom, at Rachel's invitation, to find herself in a soundproofed locked room illuminated by flickering tea lights containing a bed strewn with rose petals on which lounged a nervous but highly attractive Rachel wearing only a silk robe and a big smile - a carefully selected soundtrack playing in the background. The emotional intensity of taking their relationship to another level was heightened by the fear of Rachel's dads being determined enough to break down the door if they'd had the slightest suspicion of what was going on. The earth moved but fortunately the door didn't and, as the soundtrack played on, an exhausted but happy Quinn had joked that just because she could complete a half marathon didn't mean she could complete a sex marathon even with Rachel cheering her on. Rachel had responded it was all about plenty of practice and stamina training and that she was quite prepared to take Quinn in hand - the unintentional innuendo causing Quinn to at least summon up the energy to laugh heartily. References to being taken in hand had been a frequent fixture in their interactions from that moment on.

Rachel gazed fondly at a still sleeping Quinn. At least climbing the tree no longer needed to be part of the warm up to intimacy now that her Dads had finally been won round. They had initially viewed her involvement with Quinn as just a teenage rebellious phase and had been coolly polite to a totally charming, impeccably mannered and winsome Quinn. Her Dads were continually seizing the opportunity to point out the fickle Fabray nature and that the jump from bully to girlfriend was just as short as the one from girlfriend to bully. They knew her well enough to be able to point out her disparate need to be liked or even loved probably blinded her to the full picture of her precarious Quinn-dependent situation. If they were in Rachel's room her Dads would be in and out every few minutes or so under all sorts of pretexts, despite Rachel challenging them on their sudden desire to bring her clean washing to her room (unheard of) or check she was sufficiently hydrated with offers of drinks and insisting she try whatever culinary delight they could throw together as an excuse to check up on her and Quinn. Going out for dates was almost as tiresome, with long discussions of risk assessments as well as health and safety procedures that Quinn needed to be grilled on.

Rachel had been exasperated, but Quinn had been amused at this glimpse of the influences that helped make Rachel as unique as she was. Quinn was all for letting time be a great healer, but Rachel's patience was quickly exhausted and she'd decided to force the pace. She'd sat her fathers down and made them think about what it was like for Quinn to grow up in an oppressively intolerant household, never mind the emotional impact of being banished from the family home. Her Dads had found Mr Fabrays letters and rants provocative and frustrating as adults, but how much harder would that have been for an impressionable gay teenage to be continually exposed to such hatred. Now they needed to consider how their perceived lack of support might be impacting on a vulnerable youth who had yet to experience acceptance. Rachel was tearful from her own eloquence and hadn't even moved on to talking about Mrs Fabray's alcoholic hazes with sober bouts of ignoring Quinn. Her fathers were guilt-ridden and ready to offer Quinn whatever kind of support and help she needed after Rachel had vetoed their plans for a dramatic fullsome apology. Suddenly Quinn was welcome to stay over in the guest room and to join them for meals. Soon girl's night sleepovers became acceptable, their frequency increased and gradually the necessity of the pretence of separate beds disappeared too.

Mrs Fabray had seemed unconcerned about whether Quinn was in or out of the house once it became apparent to her that Quinn and Rachel were actually in a relationship and not one just designed to spite her. Rachel's visits to the Fabray household had been abruptly curtailed once a sober Mrs Fabray decided to share her thoughts about how unsuitable Rachel was for her daughter. Rachel seemed to tick every box on the completely unsuitable partner material list be it gender, religion, family upbringing, career aspirations or even personal appearance (Rachel still sometimes puzzled over 'a nose to cut cheese with'). Mrs Fabray's detailed analysis on exactly how Rachel failed to meet her high expectations was matched only by Quinn's equally scathing analysis on how her mother had failed to meet hers. Rachel had managed to throw in a final remark as they left about how as a 'dirty jewess' she appreciated the opportunity to see 'Christian tolerance and compassion in action'. She prided herself on not crying until out of Mrs Fabray's earshot, and then her tears were only partly for herself and mainly for the fact Quinn had such unloving parents.

Now Quinn was highly regarded by her Dads and used her influence sparingly but to great effect. The reason Quinn was currently comatose on the bed was the result of a rather late night because Rachel had been doing a guest spot with the Ginger Aardvarks – well, that and the fact that Quinn felt compelled to express her admiration for Rachel's singing prowess multiple times once they'd finally arrived home. Quinn had helped to persuade her Dads to relent on their either-or-ultimatum about dancing or band. Rachel had worked hard to persuade Quinn to become involved in the discussion and to manoeuvre her Dads to a point where they were ready to listen. Quinn had reassured them about keeping Rachel away from the demon drink, out of the hands of those who would offer her drugs and far away from would-be groupies (Rachel had to smother a laugh at the very idea) whilst also pointing out the unfairness of depriving people the opportunity to admire just how truly talented Rachel was thanks to their loving support and careful nurturing - Rachel thought this final point might appeal to her Dads vanity when she'd suggested it to Quinn. Her Dads had caved easily; consequently she was less a guest and more a permanent member of the Ginger Aardvarks whenever they performed in or around Lima. There was also a small group of McKinley High students who were now fans, which was helpful in the everyday struggle for survival at High School. It wasn't always easy being part of an out lesbian couple and Rachel had hardly started high up the popularity tree.

The student body reaction to her and Quinn becoming an item had been depressingly predictable but occurred rather faster than Rachel had expected. She had been still trying to process Quinn's rapid about face from complete denial to total out there and proud gay poster girl when the first salvo of name calling had begun. Poorly photoshopped obscene images had briefly appeared, causing Quinn to be jumpy and unsettled. Rachel's comment about "whilst homophobia from those brought up in an intolerant judgemental Christian environment was understandable, teenagers being unable to Photoshop in a vaguely believable manner was unforgivable and an indictment of a failing education system" had caused Quinn to burst into laughter and then hug her tightly, asking her to never change.

The Cheerios had soon been brought under control by a supportive Santana who made a point of demonstrating her loyalty by being seen with them about the school, arm in arm with her or Quinn, or even both of them. Rachel had no idea and didn't really want to know what threats had kept the Cheerios off their backs initially, but now, all this time later, it seemed to be custom and practise to let them just be. The innuendo-laced comments and straightforward sexually explicit taunts of the jocks had been a different matter, not helped by the rather poor example set by Puck. He had obviously thought himself to be funny, endearing or both, but Quinn had felt compelled to correct his misapprehension by the end of the first week of sniggered asides. His comment about wanting to watch Quinn 'using her tongue to help Rachel hit some high notes' had been the innocuous final straw. Up to that point Rachel hadn't really realised how much of a turn-on she found HBIC Quinn until Quinn had pushed Puck across a corridor, slammed him into some lockers and snarled threateningly in his ear with her elbow placed firmly against his throat. Again, Rachel had no idea what had been said but the instant draining of colour from Puck's face as Quinn spoke and the way his hands involuntarily moved to cup his crotch suggested she'd been suitably graphic. Puck had been extremely polite and supportive since then and even made efforts to keep the rest of the jocks in line. To be honest, the withdrawal of sexual favours by the Cheerios under the influence of Santana had been a far more effective deterrent against the homophobia of the jocks.

Santana had been by far the biggest revelation in all this. The day after the big reveal (as Rachel liked to call it in her head) she and Quinn had been having the disconcerting experience of corridors falling silent at their appearance only for a wave of whispering to follow in their wake. When they had entered the women's bathroom for a break from this, the cacophony of noise had turned to instant silence as their presence registered. Some serious exchange of eye contact both directly and via the mirrors had followed but, before anything further could happen, Santana had burst thought the door demanding all bitches to leave but insisting Rachel and Quinn stay. The room had emptied immediately with an unseemly rush for the exit as Rachel had stood in front of Quinn to try and buffer against whatever abuse Santana had been about to unleash. From there events had turned decidedly surreal: Santana had smiled at her, shook her hand enthusiastically saying something about her helping Quinn squeeze citrus fruits, or was it unsqueezing?, Rachel had been too astonished to take it in. Then Santana had bear-hugged Quinn, claimed she'd always known anyway and that she was proud of her. She and Quinn had stood dumbfounded, replicating the Mercedes fish out of water look, as Santana had rattled on about at least having people to go to gay events with now and how she was looking forward to forming a Sapphic sisters society with a Georgia O'Keeffe flower for a logo because a clueless Figgins so wouldn't get that. She and Quinn had continued to exchange bewildered glances until Santana had finally stopped outlining rather crude membership criteria for the Sapphic Sisters and had slowly ground to a halt.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Quinn had inquired with an icy tone. "Because you have no idea of the havoc and destruction I could wreak on your life."

"I don't doubt it, Q. But if I wanted to make your life a misery I wouldn't need some sneaky underhand double crossing scheme of fake friendship, that's more a Fabray way of working. We know too much about each other. It's time to call off the cold war and work towards a mutually beneficial arrangement," replied Santana.

The cold war reference had stuck in Rachel's memory as she'd been under the impression that Santana paid absolutely no attention in any of her classes and certainly hadn't attended the modern history ones. Quinn's scepticism had been written across her face and there had followed a tense exchange of "what I know that will end" you threats as Rachel had switched back and forth between the pair as if watching a tennis match. After much posturing on both sides, a reluctant Santana had finally come clean about her true agenda: Brittany. It would be easier to persuade Brittany to dump Artie and date Santana if they weren't going to be the only lesbian couple at school and, besides, Brittany's soft spot for Rachel gave Rachel a unique opportunity to influence her – in the direction of Santana. Rachel had been immediately adamant that she wouldn't be doing anything to influence Brittany one way or another and it was outrageous that Santana even dared to suggest that. Santana and Quinn were to busy glowering at each other to fully appreciate the amount of emotional intensity Rachel managed to inject into her foot stompingly outraged performance.

In hindsight Rachel had been expressing a noble but flawed aim. Just being happy with Quinn had influenced Brittany and after some awkward, tense, conversationally painful double dates with Brittany and Artie compared to the highly amusing and laughter-filled girls nights with them and Santana, Brittany had gravitated to the more fun option. Rachel had pointed out in a rare one-to-one exchange with Santana that her methods were at least as sneaky and underhanded as Quinn's, citing the subtle wooing of Brittany. Santana had countered that Rachel manipulating Mercedes into giving her a reason to date Quinn was equally if not more underhand. Rachel had been speechless with indignation before Santana had suddenly laughed, hugged her and said "judging from your face maybe you're not the master manipulator that Mercedes claims then." She'd stared, glared and then finally grinned at Santana. At last, she felt she could stop waiting for the other shoe to drop.

As for The Sapphic sisters society, well, it didn't make it beyond Santana's imagination much to Quinn's often-stated relief and Brittany's immense disappointment. Rachel, with a huge effort, stayed neutral and just filed the Sapphic Sister playlist under miscellaneous in the rare event a lesbian-themed soundtrack might ever come in useful in the future. Santana continued to refuse to use Rachel's first name, but at least now her epithets were affectionate and related only to height, which was ironic considering Santana was only a smidgen taller than Rachel. Rachel's suggestion that Q stood for quietly quixotic, B for breathtakingly beautiful and S for stunningly short had met with two thirds of her audience laughing heartily and one third looking ready to kill her. Excellent preparation for a future career in performance then.

It had been Santana who'd encouraged her to see how far she could push the new-found tolerance that Mr Schue showed to her in Glee club. Rachel would catch him staring at her with a puzzled expression as if trying to discern how she had managed to capture Quinn's interest. Honestly, a grown man being envious of her talent was the only explanation she could come up with, but surely his motivation for his poor treatment of her couldn't be that petty? He seemed unable to meet her eye or deny her performing, particularly if Quinn stepped up behind her put a hand on Rachel's shoulder and asked 'is there a problem here?'

Mr Schue's snapping point had proved to be when an enthusiastic Rachel and an extremely reluctant Quinn had stepped up to perform _J'taime mais non plus._ The band had only managed to play the first line before Mr Schue had leapt up red- faced and positively vibrating with outrage to halt their performance. In the background a delighted Santana was making remarks about American teenagers needing to be exposed to more foreign languages than just Spanish and suggesting Mr Schue needed to broaden his horizons. A relieved but unamused Quinn had glared at Santana insisting she needed to stop issuing Rachel challenges, dares, bets and all other synonyms to that effect. Quinn had then turned to Rachel and insisted that she needed to learn to say "no", in an exasperated tone that Rachel really hadn't appreciated. She could still recall how her response accompanied with a smirk of "Really. Quinn, you _really_ want me to start saying no? That wasn't the impression I was under last night when you were..." had caused her girlfriend to light up like a beacon with embarrassment as she clamped her hand over Rachel's mouth. Santana's snorts of laughter had filled the sudden silence as the rest of the Glee Club struggled to find a response more appropriate than Finn storming out yet again. Rachel managed to register Tina's grin and Brittany's smile as well as the disapproving scowl on Mercedes face.

"Promise you'll take me in hand?" Rachel had asked Quinn with a saucy grin once Quinn's hand had been removed from her mouth and any tension between them immediately disappeared as they both began laughing.

Rachel still wasn't sure whether it was Quinn or Santana who was ultimately responsible for the four-fingered greeting based on that long ago gloating movement that now nearly everyone used to acknowledge Mercedes with. Quinn, with her black belt in grudge-bearing, had initially used the gesture as a warning when she thought Mercedes was becoming dangerously close to disrespecting Rachel, but then Santana had taken it on a means of greeting Mercedes to irritate her. Its popularity had then spread throughout the student body and Mercedes seemed to have resigned herself to being greeted this way for the rest of her school career. Rachel couldn't bring herself to tease Mercedes like that as, after all, if Mercedes hadn't issued that challenge all that time ago she wouldn't be in the incredibly happy position she was in now. Besides, her positively radiating happiness and contentment seemed to irritate Mercedes beyond belief and the ' this is it' performance dedicated to 'Mercedes without whom none of this would have been possible' had been the closest she'd come to gloating. Even Santana's heckle after the lyrics "I'm lost for words" of "impossible" couldn't detract from the exuberance of her performance. Mercedes expression alone had been worth the time spent setting up disco balls in the choir room.

In fact, overall being involved with Quinn had been a series of gains and losses. She'd gained a much closer friendship with Tina and Mike, but lost any chance of being friends with a still-smarting-six-months-later Mercedes. She'd gained status in Glee Club, but lost all chemistry with Mr Schue's pseudo son, Finn. She'd gained contentment, confidence and an awesome girlfriend and lost a lot of her social awkwardness and the need to be the centre of attention. Okay, if she was completely honest maybe not the last one, she was just learning to be better at sharing the spotlight. Maybe Quinn's mother was never going to like her and maybe Sue Sylvester would never tire of referencing her sexuality with politically incorrect insults however, on balance, a wider circle of friends, a richer social life - Uncle John's regular invites meant she was at least becoming more knowledgeable on the art appreciation front - and the love of this wonderful woman currently snoring so inelegantly next to her meant her cup was currently overflowing. She closed her eyes just to enjoy the feelings of the moment.

"Do I need to worry about what put such a massive smile on your face?" a croaky voice from beside her broke into her thoughts.

"I was thinking about you." Rachel grinned, leaning forward to capture Quinn's lips with hers. "And how happy you make me."

Quinn managed to summon sufficient energy to pull Rachel into a closer embrace before rolling over and sitting astride Rachel.

"Did I manage. to tell you. how amazingly .awesome. you were. Singing. last night?" asked Quinn punctuating her words with kisses.

"No," husked Rachel," but you did show me - several times." Quinn's neck nuzzling activities were making her lose her train of thought. "It seems only fair I should give you feedback on your performance too," Rachel managed to force out slightly more breathily than she intended.

"Oh really?" Quinn quirked her eyebrow in a manner guaranteed to raise Rachel's temperature.

"Only fair, really, though of course, as usual, all the superlatives apply." Rachel registered Quinn's smug grin which crumpled quickly as Rachel added, "but there was something... I couldn't quite put my finger on it." Quinn's cockiness was quickly fading as Rachel rolled them over so she was gazing down on a slightly worried looking Quinn. "And I intend to rectify that right now" She smirked enjoying the transformation in Quinn's features as she registered the innuendo.

"I'm beginning to wish you never befriended Santana" Quinn mock-grumped.

"Well, let me try out some other ideas Santana shared with me."

Rachel grinned, silencing any potential objections with a deep lingering kiss. Quinn's last coherent thought was that she'd probably be thanking Santana later.


End file.
